St  .Jerome  and 
Holy  Scripture 


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ST,  JEROME  AND 
HOLT  SC1^PTU1{E 

THE  ENCYCLICAL  LETTER  OF  OUR 
HOLY     FATHER,     POPE     BENEDICT    XV 

TO  ALL  PATRIARCHS,  PRIMATES,  ARCHBISHOPS, 
BISHOPS  AND  ORDINARIES  IN  UNION  WITH  THE 
APOSTOLIC  SEE  :  ON  THE  FIFTEENTH  CENTENARY 
oj  the  DEATH  of  ST.  JEROME,  DOCTOR  of  HOLY  CHURCH 


^ey^ecSk,*^^^^^    XV 


p(?pe 


JUTHORISET>  TRANSLATION 


P.    y.    KENEDT    AND    SONS 

44,  BARCLJT  STREET,  NEW  YORK 


ty 


ST.  JEROME  AND 
HOLY  SCRIPTURE 


CONTENTS 

A 

St.  Jerome's  Life  and  Labours  -  -       7 


PAGE 


B 

His  Teaching  regarding   Holy   Scripture 

(a)  its  plenary  inspiration  -  -  12 

(i?)   its  authoritative  character     -  -  14 

{c)  its  immunity   from   error  -  ~  '5 

c 

How    certain     Modern    Views    compare    with 
this  Teaching 
(a)  there  are   no  such  things  as  "  primary 

AND  secondary   ELEMENTS"  IN  THE   BIBLE        I9 
(if)    NOR    CAN  WE    ALLOW  OF   A  "  RELATIVE    FORM 

OF    truth"    in    IT  -  -  -        21 

(c)  IS    THE    BIBLE    GENUINE    HISTORY  ?  -       22 

(d)  NEITHER      CAN      WE      ADMIT     THE      THEORY 

OF  so-called  "tacit  quotations"       -     23 

((?)  none  of  THESE  NOTIONS  ARE  COMPATIBLE 
WITH  TRADITIONAL  VIEWS  ON  THE  BIBLE, 
NOR  INDEED  WITH  CHRIST's  OWN  METHOD 
OF    EMPLOYING    IT  -  -  '       '^ S 


vi  St.   'Jerome  and  Holy  Scripture 

D 

PACE 

How  TO  Study  the  Bible 

{a)    WE    MUST  LOVE   IT  AND  READ    IT      -  '       "^1 

{h)    HE  ALSO    SHOWS    US   THE    NEED   OF  A    LIVELY 

CATHOLIC    FAITH  -  -  "30 

E 

The    Part   the   Bible    must   play    in    Priestly 
Education 

{a)    the    NEED    OF    BIBLICAL    LEARNING  -  37 

(b)    OF    the    PONTIFICAL    BIBLICAL    INSTITUTE   -  38 
[C]    THE   IMMEDIATE  GOAL  OF  OUR  STUDY  OF  THE 

BIBLE    IS  OUR  OWN    SPIRITUAL    FORMATION  4O 
{d)    THE    LESS    IMMEDIATE  GOAL    IS    THE  DEFENCE 

OF    CATHOLIC    TRUTH         -  -  -  4O 

{e)    FOR    THIS    PURPOSE    ST.    JEROME    LAYS    DOWN 

CERTAIN    RULES    OF    INTERPRETATION  -  4I 

(/)    IN   WHAT  TRUE    PULPIT  ELOQUENCE   CONSISTS  44 

F 

The  Ultimate  Goal  of  our  Biblical  Study 

IN  THE  bible  we  SHALL  DISCOVER  THE  SOUl's 
TRUE  DELIGHTS.  IN  IT  WE  SHALL  ALSO 
DISCOVER  THE  CHURCH.  WE  SHALL  THEN 
LEARN  WITH  ST.  JEROME  WHAT  IT  IS  TO 
LABOUR    FOR    LOVE    OF    CHRIST         -  "49 


Epilogue 


-     59 


St.  Jerome  and  Holy 
Scripture 

A 

St.   yeromes  Life  and  Labours 

SINCE  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Comforter,  had  bestowed 
the  Scriptures  on  the  human  race  for  their  instruction 
in  Divine  things.  He  also  raised  up  in  successive 
ages  saintly  and  learned  men  whose  task  it  should  be  to 
develop  that  treasure  and  so  provide  for  the  faithful 
plenteous  "consolation  from  the  Scriptures."^  Foremost 
among  these  teachers  stands  St.  Jerome.  Him  the 
Catholic  Church  acclaims  and  reveres  as  her  "  Greatest 
Doctor,"  divinely  given  her  for  the  understanding  of  the 
Bible.  And  now  that  the  fifteenth  centenary  of  his  death 
is  approaching  we  would  not  willingly  let  pass  so 
favourable  an  opportunity  of  addressing  you  on  the  debt 
we  owe  him.  For  the  responsibility  of  our  Apostolic 
office  impels  us  to  set  before  you  his  wonderful  example 
and  so  promote  the  study  of  Holy  Scripture  in  accordance 
with  the  teaching  of  our  predecessors,  Leo  XIII.  and 
Pius  X.,  which  we  desire  to  apply  more  precisely  still  to 
the  present  needs  of  the  Church.  For  St.  Jerome — 
"strenuous  Catholic,  learned  in  the  Scriptures,'"^  "teacher 

1  Rom.  XV.  4.  ^  Sulpicius  Sevcrus,  Dial.  i.  7. 


8  St.  yerome  and  Holy  Scripture 

of  Catholics,"^  "  model  of  virtue,  world's  teacher  "^ — has 
by  his  earnest  and  illuminative  defence  of  Catholic  doctrine 
on  Holy  Scripture  left  us  most  precious  instructions. 
These  we  propose  to  set  before  you  and  so  promote  among 
the  children  of  the  Church,  and  especially  among  the 
clergy,  assiduous  and  reverent  study  of  the  Bible. 

No  need  to  remind  you,  Venerable  Brethren,  that  Jerome 
was  born  in  Stridonia,  in  a  town  "  on  the  borders  of 
Dalmatia  and  Pannonia  "  ;^  that  from  his  infancy  he  was 
brought  up  a  Catholic  ;**  that  after  his  baptism  here  in 
Rome  ^  he  lived  to  an  advanced  age  and  devoted  all  his 
powers  to  studying,  expounding,  and  defending  the 
Bible.  At  Rome  he  had  learned  Latin  and  Greek, 
and  hardly  had  he  left  the  school  of  rhetoric  than 
he  ventured  on  a  Commentary  on  Abdias  the  Prophet. 
This  "  youthful  piece  of  work  "^  kindled  in  him  such 
love  of  the  Bible  that  he  decided — like  the  man  in  the 
Gospel  who  found  a  treasure — to  spurn  "  any  emoluments 
the  world  could  provide,"^  and  devote  himself  wholly  to 
such  studies.  Nothing  could  deter  him  from  this  stern 
resolve.  He  left  home,  parents,  sister,  and  relatives  ;  he 
denied  himself  the  more  delicate  food  he  had  been  accus- 
tomed to,  and  went  to  the  East  so  that  he  might  gather 
from  studious  reading  of  the  Bible  the  fuller  riches  of 
Christ  and  true  knowledge  of  his  Saviour.^  Jerome  him- 
self tells  us  in  several  places  how  assiduously  he  toiled  : 

^  Cassian,  De  inc.  vii.  26. 

2  S.  Prosper,  Carmen  de  Ingratis  v.  57. 

^  Vir.  Illustr.  cxxxv. 

*   Ep.  Ixxxii,  2.  ^  Ep.  XV.  i;  xvi.  2. 

"  Traf.  in  Abdiam.  '  In  Matt.  xiii.  14. 

^  Ep.  xxii.  30. 


'The  Encyclical  Letter 


"  An  eager  desire  to  learn  obsessed  me.  But  I  was  not 
so  foolish  as  to  try  and  teach  myself.  At  Antioch  I 
regularly  attended  the  lectures  of  Apollinarius  of  Lao- 
dicea  ;  but  while  I  learned  much  from  him  about  the 
Bible,  I  would  never  accept  his  doubtful  teachings  about 
its  interpretation."^ 

From  Antioch  he  betook  himself  to  the  desert  of 
Chalcis,  in  Syria,  to  perfect  himself  in  his  knowledge 
of  the  Bible,  and  at  the  same  time  to  curb  "youthful 
desires  "  by  means  of  hard  study.  Here  he  engaged  a 
convert  Jew  to  teach  him  Hebrew  and  Chaldaic. 

"  What  a  toil  it  was  !  How  difficult  I  found  it  ! 
How  often  I  was  on  the  point  of  giving  it  up  in  despair, 
and  yet  in  my  eagerness  to  learn  took  it  up  again  ! 
Myself  can  bear  witness  of  this,  and  so,  too,  can  those 
who  had  lived  with  me  at  the  time.  Yet  I  thank  God 
for  the  fruit  I  won  from  that  bitter  seed."^ 

Lest,  however,  he  should  grow  idle  in  this  desert 
where  there  were  no  heretics  to  vex  him,  Jerome  betook 
himself  to  Constantinople,  where  for  nearly  three  years 
he  studied  Holy  Scripture  under  St.  Gregory  the  Theo- 
logian, then  Bishop  of  that  See  and  in  the  height  of  his 
fame  as  a  teacher.  While  there  he  translated  into  Latin 
Origen's  Homilies  on  the  Prophets  and  Eusebius'  Chronicle ; 
he  also  wrote  on  Isaias'  vision  of  the  Seraphim.  He 
then  returned  to  Rome  on  ecclesiastical  business,  and 
Pope  Damasus  admitted  him  into  his  court.®  However, 
he  let  nothing  distract  from  continual  occupation  with 
the  Bible,^  and  the  task  of  copying  various  manuscripts,^ 

1  Ep.  Ixxxiv.  3.  2   Ep.  cxxv.  12. 

^  Ep.  cxxiii.  9  ;  cxxvii.  7.     ■*   Ep.  cxxvii.  7. 
^  Ep.  xxxvi.  I  ;  cf.  xxxii.  i. 


10  St.  yerome  and  Holy  Scripture 

as  well  as  answering  the  many  questions  put  to  him  by- 
students  of  both  sexes.  ^ 

Pope  Damasus  had  entrusted  to  him  a  most  laborious 
task,  the  correction  of  the  Latin  text  of  the  Bible.  So 
well  did  Jerome  carry  this  out  that  even  to-day  men 
versed  in  such  studies  appreciate  its  value  more  and  more. 
But  he  ever  yearned  for  Palestine,  and  when  the  Pope 
died  he  retired  to  Bethlehem  to  a  monastery  nigh  to  the 
cave  where  Christ  was  born.  Every  moment  he  could 
spare  from  prayer  he  gave  to  Biblical  studies. 

"  Though  my  hair  was  now  growing  grey  and  though 
I  looked  more  like  professor  than  student,  yet  I  went  to 
Alexandria  to  attend  Didymus'  lectures.  1  owe  him  much. 
What  I  did  not  know  I  learned.  What  I  knew  already  I 
did  not  lose  through  his  different  presentation  of  it.  Men 
thought  I  had  done  with  tutors  ;  but  when  I  got  back  to 
Jerusalem  and  Bethlehem  how  hard  I  worked  and  what  a 
price  I  paid  for  my  night-time  teacher  Baraninus !  Like 
another  Nicodemus  he  was  afraid  of  the  Jews  !"^ 

Nor  was  Jerome  content  merely  to  gather  up  this  or 
that  teacher's  words  ;  he  gathered  from  all  quarters  what- 
ever might  prove  of  use  to  him  in  his  task.  From  the 
outset  he  had  accumulated  the  best  possible  copies  of  the 
Bible  and  the  best  commentators  on  it,  but  now  he 
worked  on  copies  from  the  synagogues  and  from  the 
library  formed  at  Caesarea  by  Origen  and  Eusebius  ;  he 
hoped  by  assiduous  comparison  of  texts  to  arrive  at 
greater  certainty  touching  the  actual  text  and  its  meaning. 
With  this  same  purpose  he  went  all  through  Palestine. 

^  Ep.  xlv.  2  ;  cf.  cxxvi.  3  ;  cxxvii.  7. 
2  Ep.  Ixxxiv.  3. 


The  Encyclical  Letter  1 1 

For  he  was  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  truth  of  what  he 
once  wrote  to  Domnio  and  Rogatian  : 

"  A  man  will  understand  the  Bible  better  if  he  has  seen 
Judaea  with  his  own  eyes  and  discovered  its  ancient  cities 
and  sites  either  under  the  old  names  or  newer  ones.  In 
company  with  some  learned  Hebrews  I  went  through  the 
entire  land  the  names  of  whose  sites  are  on  every 
Christian's  lips.''^ 

He  nourished  his  soul  unceasingly  on  this  most 
pleasant  food :  he  explained  St.  Paul's  Epistles ;  he 
corrected  the  Latin  version  of  the  Old  Testament  by  the 
Greek  ;  he  translated  afresh  nearly  all  the  books  of  the 
Old  Testament  from  Hebrew  into  Latin  ;  day  by  day  he 
discussed  Biblical  questions  with  the  brethren  who  came 
to  him,  and  answered  letters  on  Biblical  questions  which 
poured  in  upon  him  from  all  sides  ;  besides  all  this,  he  was 
constantly  refuting  men  who  assailed  Catholfc  doctrine 
and  unity.  Indeed,  such  was  his  love  for  Holy  Scripture 
that  he  ceased  not  from  writing  or  dictating  till  his  hand 
stiffened  in  death  and  his  voice  was  silent  for  ever.  So 
it  was  that,  sparing  himself  neither  labour  nor  watching 
nor  expense,  he  continued  to  extreme  old  age  meditating 
day  and  night  beside  the  Crib  on  the  Law  of  the  Lord  ; 
of  greater  profit  to  the  Catholic  cause  by  his  life  and 
example  in  his  solitude  than  if  he  had  passed  his  life  at 
Rome,  the  capital  of  the  world. 

1   Praf.  in  i  Paral. 


12  St,   'Jerome  and  Holy  Scripture 


B 

His   Teaching  regarding  Holy  Scripture 

{a)  ITS   PLENARY   INSPIRATION 

AFTER  this  preliminary  account  of  St.  Jerome's 
life  and  labours  we  may  now  treat  of  his  teaching 
on  the  divine  dignity  and  absolute  truth  of  Scripture. 
You  will  not  find  a  page  in  his  writings  which  does  not 
show  clearly  that  he,  in  common  with  the  whole  Catholic 
Church,  firmly  and  consistently  held  that  the  Sacred 
Books — written  as  they  were  under  the  inspiration  of  the 
Holy  Spirit — have  God  for  their  Author,  and  as  such 
were  delivered  to  the  Church.  Thus  he  asserts  that  the 
Books  of  the  Bible  were  composed  at  the  inspiration,  or 
suggestion,  or  even  at  the  dictation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  ; 
even  that  they  were  written  and  edited  by  Him.  Yet  he 
never  questions  but  that  the  individual  authors  of  these 
Books  worked  in  full  freedom  under  the  Divine  afflatus, 
each  of  them  in  accordance  with  their  individual  nature 
and  character.  Thus  he  is  not  merely  content  to  affirm 
as  a  general  principle — what  indeed  pertains  to  all  the 
sacred  writers — that  they  followed  the  Spirit  of  God  as 
they  wrote,  in  such  sort  that  God  is  the  principal  cause  of 
all  that  Scripture  means  and  says  ;  but  he  also  accurately 
descries  what  pertains  to  each  individual  writer.  In  each 
case  Jerome  shows  us  how,  in  composition,  in  language, 


The  Encyclical  Letter  1 3 

in  style  and  mode  of  expression,  each  of  them  uses  his  own 
gifts  and  powers  ;  hence  he  is  able  to  portray  and  describe 
for  us  their  individual  character,  almost  their  very 
features  ;  this  is  especially  so  in  his  treatment  of  the 
Prophets  and  of  St.  Paul.  This  partnership  of  God  and 
man  in  the  production  of  a  work  in  common  Jerome 
illustrates  by  the  case  of  a  workman  who  uses  instruments 
for  the  production  of  his  work  ;  for  he  says  that  what- 
soever the  sacred  authors  say 

"  Is  the  word  of  God,  and  not  their  own  ;  and  what 
the  Lord  says  by  their  mouths  He  says,  as  it  were,  by 
.  means  of  an  instrument."^ 

If  we  ask  how  we  are  to  explain  this  power  and  action 
of  God,  the  principal  cause,  on  the  sacred  writers  we 
shall  find  that  St.  Jerome  in  no  wise  differs  from  the 
common  teaching  of  the  Catholic  Church.  For  he  holds 
that  God,  through  His  grace,  illumines  the  writer's  mind 
regarding  the  particular  truth  which,  "  in  the  person  of 
God,"  he  is  to  set  before  men  ;  he  holds,  moreover,  that 
God  moves  the  writer's  will — nay,  even  impels  it — to 
write  ;  finally,  that  God  abides  with  him  unceasingly,  in 
unique  fashion,  until  his  task  is  accomplished.  Whence 
the  Saint  infers  the  supreme  excellence  and  dignity  of 
Scripture,  and  declares  that  knowledge  of  it  is  to  be 
likened  to  the  "treasure  "^  and  the  "pearl  beyond  price,"® 
,since  in  them  are  to  be  found  the  riches  of  Christ*  and 
"  silver  wherewith  to  adorn  God's  house."* 

*  Tract,  in  Ps.  Ixxxviii. 

^  Comment,  in  Matt.  xiii.  4. 

^  Ibid.  xiii.  45. 

^   Queest.  in  Genesim,  Trologus. 

*  Comment,  in  Aggaeum,  ii.  I't  cf.  in  Gal.  ii.  lo. 


14  St.  Jerome  and  Holy  Scripture 

(b)  ITS   AUTHORITATIVE   CHARACTER 

Jerome  also  insists  on  the  supereminent  authority  of 
Scripture.  When  controversy  arose  he  had  recourse  to 
the  Bible  as  a  storehouse  of  arguments,  and  he  used  its 
testimony  as  a  weapon  for  refuting  his  adversaries'  argu- 
ments, because  he  held  that  the  Bible's  witness  afforded 
solid  and  irrefutable  arguments.  Thus,  when  Helvidius 
denied  the  perpetual  virginity  of  the  Mother  of  God, 
Jerome  was  content  simply  to  reply  : 

"  Just  as  we  do  not  deny  these  things  which  are 
written,  so  do  we  repudiate  things  that  are  not  written. 
That  God  was  born  of  a  Virgin  we  believe,  because  we 
read  it.  That  Mary  was  married  after  His  birth  we  do 
not  believe  because  we  do  not  read  it."^ 

In  the  same  fashion  he  undertakes  to  defend  against 
Jovinian,  with  precisely  the  same  weapons,  the  Catholic 
doctrines  of  the  virginal  state,  of  perseverance,  of  absti- 
nence, and  of  the  merit  of  good  works  : 

"  In  refuting  his  statements  I  shall  rely  especially  on 
the  testimony  of  Scripture,  lest  he  should  grumble  and 
complain  that  he  has  been  vanquished  rather  by  my 
eloquence  than  by  the  truth. "^ 

So,  too,  when  defending  himself  against  the  same 
Helvidius,  he  says  :  ''  He  was,  you  might  say,  begged  to 
yield  to  me,  and  be  led  away  as  a  willing  and  unresisting 
captive  in  the  bonds  of  truth. "^  Again,  "  We  must  not 
follow  the  errors  of  our  parents,  nor  of  those  who  have 
gone  before  us ;  we  have  the  authority  of  the  Scriptures 

^  jitiv.  Helvid.  xix.  2  Jdv.  Jovin.  i.  4. 

^  Ep.  xlix.  (xlviii.)  14,  i. 


The  Encyclical  Letter  15 

and  God's  teaching  to  command  us."^     Once  more,  when 
showing  Fabiola  how  to  deal  with  critics,  he  says : 

"  When  you  are  really  instructed  in  the  Divine 
Scriptures,  and  have  realised  that  its  laws  and  testimonies 
are  the  bonds  of  truth,  then  you  can  contend  with  adver- 
saries ;  then  you  will  fetter  them  and  lead  them  bound 
into  captivity  ;  then  of  the  foes  you  have  made  captive 
you  will  make  freedmen  of  God.  "^ 


{c)  ITS   IMMUNITY   FROM   ERROR 

Jerome  further  shews  that  the  immunity  of  Scripture 
from  error  or  deception  is  necessarily  bound  up  with  its 
Divine  inspiration  and  supreme  authority.  He  says  he 
had  learnt  this  in  the  most  celebrated  schools,  whether  of 
East  or  West,  and  that  it  was  taught  him  as  the  doctrine 
of  the  Fathers,  and  generally  received.  Thus  when,  at 
the  instance  of  Pope  Damasus,  he  had  begun  correcting 
the  Latin  text  of  the  New  Testament,  and  certain 
"  manikins  "  had  vehemently  attacked  him  for  "  making 
corrections  in  the  Gospels  in  face  of  the  authority  of  the 
Fathers  and  of  general  opinion,"  Jerome  briefly  replied 
that  he  was  not  so  utterly  stupid  nor  so  grossly  unedu- 
cated as  to  imagine  that  the  Lord's  words  needed  any 
correction  or  were  not  divinely  inspired.^  Similarly, 
when  explaining  Ezechiel's  first  vision  as  portraying  the 
Four  Gospels^  he  remarks  : 

"  That  the  entire  body  and  the  back  were  full  of  eyes 
will  be  plain  to  anybody  who  realises  that  there  is  nought 
in  the  Gospels  which  does  not   shine   and  illumine  the 

1  Comment,  in  Jer.  ix.  12.  ^  Ep.  Ixxviii.  30. 

^   Ep.  xxvii.  I. 


i6  St.    ^Jerome  and  Holy   Scripture 

world  by  its  splendour,  so  that  even  things  that  seem 
trifling  and  unimportant  shine  with  the  majesty  of  the 
Holy  Spirit."^ 

What  he  has  said  here  of  the  Gospels  he  applies  in  his 
Commentaries  to  the  rest  of  the  Lord's  words  ;  he  regards 
it  as  the  very  rule  and  foundation  of  Catholic  interpreta- 
tion ;  indeed,  for  Jerome,  a  true  prophet  was  to  be 
distinguished  from  a  false  by  this  very  note  of  truth  '? 
"  The  Lord's  words  are  true  ;  for  Him  to  say  it  means 
that  it  is."^  Again,  "Scripture  cannot  lie";^  it  is 
wrong  to  say  Scripture  Jies,^  nay,  it  is  impious  even  to 
admit  the  very  notion  of  error  where  the  Bible  is  con- 
cerned.^ "The  Apostles,"  he  says,  "are  one  thing; 
other  writers" — that  is,  profane  writers — "are  another"; 
"  the  former  always  tell  the  truth  ;  the  latter — as  being 
mere  men — sometimes  err,"^  and  though  many  things 
are  said  in  the  Bible  which  seem  incredible,  yet  they  are 
true;^  in  this  "word  of  truth"  you  cannot  find  things 
or  statements  which  are  contradictory,  "  there  is  nothing 
discordant  nor  conflicting";^  consequently,  "when 
Scripture  seems  to  be  in  conflict  with  itself  both  passages 
are  true  despite  their  diversity."!^ 

Holding  principles  like  these,  Jerome  was  compelled, 
when  he  discovered  apparent  discrepancies  in  the  Sacred 
Books,  to  use  every  endeavour  to  unravel  the  difficulty. 
If  he  felt  that  he  had  not  satisfactorily  settled  the  problem, 

1  In  Ezech.  i.  15.  2  /^  Mich.  ii.  ii;  iii.  5. 

^  In  Mich.  iv.  I.  •*  In  Jer.  xxxi.  35. 

^  In  Nah.  i.  9.  «  Ep.  Ivii.  7. 

'   Ep.  Ixxxii.  7.  8  £p^  ixxii.  2. 

^  Ep.  xviii.  7;  cf.  xlvi.  6.  1°   Ep.  xxxvi.  11. 


The  Encyclical  Letter  ij 

he  would  return  to  it  again  and  again,  not  always,  indeed, 
with  the  happiest  results.  Yet  he  would  never  accuse 
the  sacred  writers  of  the  slightest  mistake — "  that  we 
leave  to  impious  folk  like  Celsus,  Porphyry,  and  Julian."^ 
Here  he  is  in  full  agreement  with  Augustine,  who 
wrote  to  Jerome  that  to  the  Sacred  Books  alone  had  he 
been  wont  to  accord  such  honour  and  reverence  as  firmly 
to  believe  that  none  of  their  writers  had  ever  fallen 
into  any  error  ;  and  that  consequently,  if  in  the  said 
books  he  came  across  anything  which  seemed  to  run 
counter  to  the  truth,  he  did  not  think  that  that  was 
really  the  case,  but  either  that  his  copy  was  defective  or 
that  the  translator  had  made  a  mistake,  or  again,  that 
he  himself  had  failed  to  understand.     He  continues  : 

"  Nor  do  I  deem  that  you  think  otherwise.  Indeed, 
I  absolutely  decline  to  think  that  you  would  have  people 
read  your  own  books  in  the  same  way  as  they  read  those 
of  the  Prophets  and  Apostles  ;  the  idea  that  these  latter 
could  contain  any  errors  is  impious."^ 

St.  Jerome's  teaching  on  this  point  serves  to  confirm 
and  illustrate  what  our  predecessor  of  happy  memory, 
Leo  XIII,,  declared  to  be  the  ancient  and  traditional 
belief  of  the  Church  touching  the  absolute  immunity  of 
Scripture  from  error  : 

"  So  far  is  it  from  being  the  case  that  error  can  be 
compatible  with  inspiration,  that,  on  the  contrary,  it  not 
only  of  its  very  nature  precludes  the  presence  of  error, 
but  as  necessarily  excludes  it  and  forbids  it  as  God, 
the  Supreme  Truth,  necessarily  cannot  be  the  Author 
of  error." 

*  Ep.Wn.  9.  2  ijjfgr  Epp.  S.  Hier.  cxvi,  3. 

3 


1 8  St.  yerome  and  Holy  Scripture 

Then,  after  giving  the  definitions  of  the  Councils  of 
Florence  and  Trent,  confirmed  by  the  Council  of  the 
Vatican,  Pope  Leo  continues  : 

"  Consequently  it  is  not  to  the  point  to  suggest  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  used  men  as  His  instruments  for  writing, 
and  that  therefore,  while  no  error  is  referable  to  the 
primary  Author,  it  may  well  be  due  to  the  inspired 
authors  themselves.  For  by  supernatural  power  the 
Holy  Spirit  so  stirred  them  and  moved  them  to  write,  so 
stood  by  them  as  they  wrote,  that  their  minds  could 
rightly  conceive  only  those  and  all  those  things  which 
He  Himself  bade  them  conceive  ;  only  such  things 
could  they  faithfully  commit  to  writing  and  aptly  express 
with  unerring  truth  ;  else  God  would  not  be  the  Author 
of  the  entirety  of  Sacred  Scripture."* 

^  Litt.  Encycl.j  "  Providcntissimus  Deus." 


The  Encyclical  Letter  19 


C 

How  certain   Modern   Views  compare 
with   this    Teaching 

(fl)   THERE  ARE  NO  SUCH  THINGS  AS  "PRIMARY 
AND  SECONDARY  ELEMENTS"  IN  THE  BIBLE 

BUT  although  these  words  of  our  predecessor  leave 
no  room  for  doubt  or  dispute,  it  grieves  us  to  find 
that  not  only  men  outside,  but  even  children  of 
the  Catholic  Church — nay,  what  is  a  peculiar  sorrow  to 
us,  even  clerics  and  professors  of  sacred  learning — who 
in  their  own  conceit  either  openly  repudiate  or  at  least 
attack  in  secret  the  Church's  teaching  on  this  point. 

We  warmly  commend,  of  course,  those  who,  with  the 
assistance  of  critical  methods,  seek  to  discover  new  ways 
of  explaining  the  difficulties  in  Holy  Scripture,  whether 
for  their  own  guidance  or  to  help  others.  But  wc  remind 
them  that  they  will  only  come  to  miserable  grief  if  they 
neglect  our  predecessor's  injunctions  and  overstep  the 
limits  set  by  the  Fathers. 

Yet  no  one  can  pretend  that  certain  recent  writers 
really  adhere  to  these  limitations.  For  while  conceding 
that  inspiration  extends  to  every  phrase — and,  indeed, 
to  every  single  word  of  Scripture — yet,  by  endeavouring 
to  distinguish  between  what  they  style  the  primary  or 
religious  and  the  secondary  or  profane  element  in  the 
Bible,  they  claim  that  the  effect  of  inspiration — namely. 


20  St.   yerome  and  Holy  Scripture 

absolute  truth  and  immunity  from  error — are  to  be 
restricted  to  that  primary  or  religious  element.  Their 
notion  is  that  only  what  concerns  religion  is  intended 
and  taught  by  God  in  Scripture,  and  that  all  the  rest — 
things  concerning  "  profane  knowledge,"  the  garments  in 
which  Divine  truth  is  presented — God  merely  permits, 
and  even  leaves  to  the  individual  author's  greater  or  less 
knowledge.  Small  wonder,  then,  that  in  their  view  a 
considerable  number  of  things  occur  in  the  Bible  touching 
physical  science,  history  and  the  like,  which  cannot  be 
reconciled  with  modern  progress  in  science  ! 

Some  even  maintain  that  these  views  do  not  conflict  with 
what  our  predecessor  laid  down  since — so  they  claim — 
he  said  that  the  sacred  writers  spoke  in  accordance  with 
the  external — and  thus  deceptive — appearance  of  things 
in  nature.  But  the  Pontiff's  own  words  show  that  this 
is  a  rash  and  false  deduction.  For  sound  philosophy 
teaches  that  the  senses  can  never  be  deceived  as  regards 
their  own  proper  and  immediate  object.  Therefore, 
from  the  merely  external  appearances  of  things — of  which, 
of  course,  we  have  always  to  take  account  as  Leo  XIII., 
following  in  the  footsteps  of  St.  Augustine  and  St. 
Thomas,  most  wisely  remarks — we  can  never  conclude 
that  there  is  any  error  in  Sacred  Scripture. 

Moreover,  our  predecessor,  sweeping  aside  all  such 
distinctions  between  what  these  critics  are  pleased  to  call 
primary  and  secondary  elements,  says  in  no  ambiguous 
fashion  that  '*  those  who  fancy  that  when  it  is  a  question 
of  the  truth  of  certain  expressions  we  have  not  got 
to  consider  so  much  what  God  said  as  why  He  said  it," 
are  very  far  indeed  from  the  truth.  He  also  teaches 
that   Divine   inspiration    extends    to    every    part    of  the 


'The  Encyclical  Letter  21 

Bible  without  the  slightest  exception,  and  that  no  error 
can  occur  in  the  inspired  text : 

"  It  would  be  wholly  impious  to  limit  inspiration  to 
certain  portions  only  of  Scripture  or  to  concede  that  the 
sacred  authors  themselves  could  have  erred." 


{b)  NOR  CAN  WE  ALLOW  OF  A  "  RELATIVE 
FORM  OF  TRUTH"  IN  IT 

Those,  too,  who  hold  that  the  historical  portions 
of  Scripture  do  not  rest  on  the  absolute  truth  of  the  facts 
but  merely  upon  what  they  are  pleased  to  term  their 
relative  truth,  namely,  what  people  then  commonly 
thought,  are — no  less  than  are  the  aforementioned  critics 
— out  of  harmony  with  the  Church's  teaching,  which  is 
endorsed  by  the  testimony  of  Jerome  and  other  Fathers. 
Yet  they  are  not  afraid  to  deduce  such  views  from  the 
words  of  Leo  XIII.  on  the  ground  that  he  allowed  that 
the  principles  he  had  laid  down  touching  the  things 
of  nature  could  be  applied  to  historical  things  as  well. 
Hence  they  maintain  that  precisely  as  the  sacred  writers 
spoke  of  physical  things  according  to  appearances,  so,  too, 
while  ignorant  of  the  facts,  they  narrated  them  in 
accordance  with  general  opinion  or  even  on  baseless 
evidence ;  neither  do  they  tell  us  the  sources  whence 
they  derived  their  knowledge,  nor  do  they  make  other 
peoples'  narrative  their  own.  Such  views  are  clearly 
false,  and  constitute  a  calumny  on  our  predecessor. 
After  all,  what  analogy  is  there  between  physics  and 
history  .''  For  whereas  physics  are  concerned  with  *'  sensible 
appearances  "  and  must  consequently  square  with  pheno- 
mena, history    on  the  contrary,  must  square  with  facts, 


22  St.   'Jerome  and  Holy  Scripture 

since  history  is  the  written  account  of  events  as  they 
actually  occurred.  If  we  were  to  accept  such  views, 
how  could  we  maintain  the  truth  insisted  on  throughout 
Leo  XIII. 's  Encyclical — viz.  that  the  sacred  narrative 
is  absolutely  free  from  error  ? 

And  if  Leo  XIII.  does  say  that  we  can  apply  to 
history  and  cognate  subjects  the  same  principles  which 
hold  good  for  science,  he  yet  does  not  lay  this  down 
as  a  universal  law,  but  simply  says  that  we  can  apply 
a  like  line  of  argument  when  refuting  the  fallacies  of 
adversaries  and  defending  the  historical  truth  of  Scripture 
from  their  assaults. 

(0  IS  THE  BIBLE  GENUINE  HISTORY  ? 

Nor  do  modern  innovators  stop  here  :  they  even  try  to 
claim  St.  Jerome  as  a  patron  of  their  views  on  the  ground 
that  he  maintained  that  historic  truth  and  sequence  were 
not  observed  in  the  Bible,  "  precisely  as  things  actually 
took  place,  but  in  accordance  with  what  men  thought  at 
that  time,"  and  that  he  even  held  that  this  was  the  true 
norm  for  history.^  A  strange  distortion  of  St.  Jerome's 
words  !  He  does  not  say  that  when  giving  us  an  account 
of  events  the  writer  was  ignorant  of  the  truth  and  simply 
adopted  the  false  views  then  current ;  he  merely  says  that 
in  giving  names  to  persons  or  things  he  followed  general 
custom.  Thus  the  Evangelist  calls  St.  Joseph  the  father 
of  Jesus,  but  what  he  meant  by  the  title  "  father  "  here  is 
abundantly  clear  from  the  whole  context.  For  St.  Jerome 
"  the  true  norm  of  history  "  is  this :  when  it  is  question 
of  such  appellatives  (as  "father,"  etc.),  and  when  there  is 

^   In  Jer.  xxviii.  lo  ss.  ;  in  Matt.  xiv.  8  ;  Adv.  Helvid.  4. 


The  Encyclical  Letter  23 

no  danger  of  error,  then  a  writer  must  adopt  the  ordinary 
forms  of  speech  simply  because  such  forms  of  speech  are 
in  ordinary  use.  More  than  this :  Jerome  maintains  that 
belief  in  the  Biblical  narrative  is  as  necessary  to  salvation 
as  is  belief  in  the  doctrines  of  the  faith  ;  thus  in  his  Com- 
mentary on  the  Epistle  to  Philemon  he  says : 

"  What  I  mean  is  this  :  Does  any  man  believe  in  God 
the  Creator?  He  cannot  do  so  unless  he  first  believe 
that  the  things  written  of  God's  Saints  are  true."  He 
then  gives  examples  from  the  Old  Testament,  and  adds  : 
"  Now  unless  a  man  believes  all  these  and  other  things 
too  which  are  written  of  the  Saints  he  cannot  believe  in 
the  God  of  the  Saints."^ 

Thus  St.  Jerome  is  in  complete  agreement  with  St. 
Augustine,  who  sums  up  the  general  belief  of  Christian 
antiquity  when  he  says: 

"  Holy  Scripture  is  invested  with  supreme  authority  by 
reason  of  its  sure  and  momentous  teachings  regarding  the 
faith.  Whatever,  then,  it  tells  us  of  Enoch,  Elias  and 
Moses — that  we  believe.  We  do  not,  for  instance,  be- 
lieve that  God's  Son  was  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary  simply 
because  He  could  not  otherwise  have  appeared  in  the 
flesh  and.  *  walked  amongst  men  ' — as  Faustus  would  have 
it — but  we  believe  it  simply  because  it  is  written  in  Scrip- 
ture ;  and  unless  we  believe  in  Scripture  we  can  neither  be 
Christians  nor  be  saved. "^ 

{d)  NEITHER  CAN  WE  ADMIT  THE  THEORY  OF 
SO-CALLED  "TACIT  QUOTATIONS" 

Then  there  are  other  assailants  of  Holy  Scripture  who 
misuse  principles — which  are  only  sound  if  kept  within 
^   In  Phil.  iv.  '  Contra  Faustum  xxvi.  3,  6. 


24  St.   yerome  and  Holy  Scripture 

due  bounds — in  order  to  overturn  the  fundamental  truth 
of  the  Bible  and  thus  destroy  Catholic  teaching  handed 
down  by  the  Fathers.  If  Jerome  were  living  now  he 
would  sharpen  his  keenest  controversial  weapons  against 
people  who  set  aside  what  is  the  mind  and  judgment  of 
the  Church,  and  take  too  ready  a  refuge  in  such  notions 
as  "implicit  quotations"  or  "pseudo-historical  narratives," 
or  in  "  kinds  of  literature  "  in  the  Bible  such  as  cannot  be 
reconciled  with  the  entire  and  perfect  truth  of  God's 
word,  or  who  suggest  such  origins  of  the  Bible  as  must 
inevitably  weaken — if  not  destroy — its  authority.  What 
can  we  say  of  men  who  in  expounding  the  very  Gospels 
so  whittle  away  the  human  trust  we  should  repose  in  it  as 
to  overturn  Divine  faith  in  it .?  They  refuse  to  allow  that 
the  things  which  Christ  said  or  did  have  come  down  to  us 
unchanged  and  entire  through  witnesses  who  carefully 
committed  to  writing  what  they  themselves  had  seen  or 
heard.  They  maintain — and  particularly  in  their  treat- 
ment of  the  Fourth  Gospel — that  much  is  due  of  course  to 
the  Evangelists — who,  however,  added  much  from  their 
own  imaginations ;  but  much,  too,  is  due  to  narratives  com- 
piled by  the  faithful  at  other  periods,  the  result,  of  course, 
being  that  the  twin  streams  now  flowing  in  the  same 
channel  cannot  be  distinguished  from  one  another.  Not 
thus  did  Jerome  and  Augustine  and  the  other  Doctors  of 
the  Church  understand  the  historical  trustworthiness  of 
the  Gospels  ;  yet  of  it  one  wrote  :  "  He  that  saw  it  hath 
given  testimony,  and  his  testimony  is  true.  And  he 
knoweth  that  he  saith  true  that  you  also  may  believe."-^  So, 
too,  St.  Jerome :  after  rebuking  the  heretical  framers  of 

1  John  xix.  35, 


The  Encyclical  Letter  25 

the  apocryphal  Gospels  for  "  attempting  rather  to  fill  up 
the  story  than  to  tell  it  truly,"^  he  says  of  the  Canonical 
Scriptures  :  "  None  can  doubt  but  that  what  is  written 
took  place.  "^  Here  again  he  is  in  fullest  harmony  with 
Augustine,  who  so  beautifully  says  : 

"  These  things  are  true  ;  they  are  faithfully  and  truth- 
fully written  of  Christ ;  so  that  whosoever  believes  His 
Gospel  may  be  thereby  instructed  In  the  truth  and  misled 
by  no  lle."^ 

{e)  NONE  OF  THESE  NOTIONS  ARE  COMPATIBLE 
WITH  TRADITIONAL  VIEWS  ON  THE  BIBLE, 
NOR  INDEED  WITH  CHRIST'S  OWN  METHOD 
OF  EMPLOYING  IT 

All  this  shows  us  how  earnestly  we  must  strive  to  avoid, 
as  children  of  the  Church,  this  insane  freedom  in  venti- 
lating opinions  which  the  Fathers  were  careful  to  shun. 
This  we  shall  more  readily  achieve  If  you,  Venerable 
Brethren,  will  make  both  clergy  and  laity  committed  to 
your  care  by  the  Holy  Spirit  realise  that  neither  Jerome 
nor  the  other  Fathers  of  the  Church  learned  their  doctrine 
touching  Holy  Scripture  save  in  the  school  of  the  Divine 
Master  Himself.  We  know  what  He  felt  about  Holy 
Scripture :  when  He  said,  "  It  Is  written,"  and  "  the  Scrip- 
ture must  needs  be  fulfilled,"  we  have  therein  an  argument 
which  admits  of  no  exception  and  which  should  put  an 
end  to  all  controversy.  Yet  it  is  worth  while  dwelling  on 
this  point  a  little :  when  Christ  preached  to  the  people, 
whether  on  the  Mount  by  the  lake-side,  or  in  the  syna- 
gogue at  Nazareth,  or  in  His  own  city  of  Capharnaum, 

1  Trol.  in  Comment,  in  Matt. 

2  Ep.  Ixxviii.  I.  3  Contra  Faustum  xxvi.  8. 

4 


26  St.  Jerome  and  Holy  Scripture 

He  took.  His  points  and  His  arguments  from  the  Bible. 
From  the  same  source  came  His  weapons  when  disputing 
with  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees.  Whether  teaching  or 
disputing  He  quotes  from  all  parts  of  Scripture  and  takes 
his  examples  from  it ;  He  quotes  it  as  an  argument  which 
must  be  accepted.  He  refers  without  any  discrimination 
of  sources  to  the  stories  of  Jonas  and  the  Ninivites,  of  the 
Queen  of  Sheba  and  Solomon,  of  Elias  and  Eliseus,  of 
David  and  of  Noe,  of  Lot  and  the  Sodomites,  and  even 
of  Lot's  wife.^  How  solemn  His  witness  to  the  truth  of 
the  sacred  books :  "  One  jot,  or  one  tittle  shall  not  pass  of 
the  Law  till  all  be  fulfilled";^  and  again:  "The  Scripture 
cannot  be  broken  "  ;^  and  consequently  :  "  He  therefore 
that  shall  break  one  of  these  least  commandments,  and 
shall  so  teach  men  shall  be  called  the  least  in  the  kingdom 
of  heaven."^  Before  His  Ascension,  too,  when  He  would 
steep  His  Apostles  in  the  same  doctrine :  "  He  opened 
their  understanding  that  they  might  understand  the  Scrip- 
tures. And  He  said  to  them  :  thus  it  is  written,  and 
thus  it  behoved  Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise  again  from 
the  dead  the  third  day."^  In  a  word,  then  :  Jerome's 
teaching  on  the  superexcellence  and  truth  of  Scripture  is 
Christ's  teaching.  Wherefore  we  exhort  all  the  Church's 
children,  and  especially  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  teach  in 
seminaries,  to  follow  closely  in  St.  Jerome's  footsteps.  If 
they  will  but  do  so  they  will  learn  to  prize  as  he  prized 
the  treasure  of  the  Scriptures,  and  will  derive  from  them 
most  abundant  and  blessed  fruit. 

*   Cf.  Matt.  xii.  3,  39-4.2;  Luke  xvii.  26-29,  S^- 


2 


Matt.  V.  18.  3  John  x.  35. 


"*  Matt.  V.  19.  ^  Luke  xxiv.  45 


The  Encyclical  Letter  27 


D 

How  to  Study   the   Bible 

{a)  WE  MUST  LOVE  IT  AND  READ  IT 

NOW,  if  we  make  use  of  the  "  Greatest  of  Doctors" 
as  our  guide  and  teacher  we  shall  derive  from  so 
doing  not  only  the  gains  signalised  above,  but 
others  too,  which  cannot  be  regarded  as  trifling  or  few. 
What  these  gains  are,  Venerable  Brethren,  we  will  set  out 
briefly.  At  the  outset,  then,  we  are  deeply  impressed  by 
the  intense  love  of  the  Bible  which  St.  Jerome  exhibits  in 
his  whole  life  and  teaching  :  both  are  steeped  in  the 
Spirit  of  God.  This  intense  love  of  the  Bible  he  was 
ever  striving  to  kindle  in  the  hearts  of  the  faithful,  and 
his  words  on  this  subject  to  the  maiden  Demetrias  are 
really  addressed  to  us  all  : 

"  Love  the  Bible  and  wisdom  will  love  you  ;  love  it 
and  it  will  preserve  you  ;  honour  it  and  it  will  embrace 
you  ;  these  are  the  jewels  which  you  should  wear  on 
your  breast  and  in  your  ears."^ 

His  unceasing  reading  of  the  Bible  and  his  painstaking 
study  of  each  book — nay,  of  every  phrase  and  word — 
gave  him  a  knowledge  of  the  text  such  as  no  other 
ecclesiastical  writer  of  old  possessed.     It  is  due  to  this 

^   F.p.  cxxx    20 


28  St.  jferome  and  Holy  Scripture 

familiarity  with  the  text  and  to  his  own  acute  judgment 
that  the  Vulgate  version  Jerome  made  is,  in  the  judg- 
ment of  all  capable  men,  preferable  to  any  other  ancient 
version,  since  it  appears  to  give  us  the  sense  of  the 
original  more  accurately  and  with  greater  elegance  than 
they.  The  said  Vulgate,  "  approved  by  so  many  cen- 
turies of  use  in  the  Church,"  was  pronounced  by  the 
Council  of  Trent  "  authentic,"  and  the  same  Council 
insisted  that  it  was  to  be  used  in  teaching  and  in  the  liturgy. 
If  God  in  His  mercy  grants  us  life,  we  sincerely  hope  to 
see  an  amended  and  faithfully  restored  edition.  We  have 
no  doubt  that  when  this  arduous  task — entrusted  by  our 
predecessor,  Pius  X.,  to  the  Benedictine  Order — has  been 
completed  it  will  prove  of  great  assistance  in  the  study  of 
the  Bible. 

But  to  return  to  St.  Jerome's  love  of  the  Bible  :  this  is 
so  conspicuous  in  his  letters  that  they  almost  seem  woven 
out  of  Scripture  texts  ;  and,  as  St.  Bernard  found  no  taste 
in  things  which  did  not  echo  the  most  sweet  Name  of 
Jesus,  so  no  literature  made  any  appeal  to  Jerome  unless 
it  derived  its  light  from  Holy  Scripture.  Thus  he  wrote 
to  Paulinus,  formerly  senator  and  even  consul,  and  only 
recently  converted  to  the  faith : 

"  If  only  you  had  this  foundation  (knowledge  of  Scrip- 
ture) ;  nay,  more — if  you  would  but  let  Scripture  give  the 
finishing  touches  to  your  work — I  should  find  nothing 
more  beautiful,  more  learned,  even  nothing  more  Latin 
than  your  volumes.  ...  If  you  could  but  add  to  your 
wisdom  and  eloquence  study  of  and  real  acquaintance 
with  Holy  Scripture,  we  should  speedily  have  to  acknow- 
ledge you  a  leader  amongst  us."^ 

1  Ep.  Iviii.  9,  II. 


The  Encyclical  Letter  29 

How  we  are  to  seek  for  this  great  treasure,  given  as  it 
is  by  our  Father  in  heaven  for  our  solace  during  this 
earthly  pilgrimage,  St.  Jerome's  example  shows  us. 
First,  we  must  be  well  prepared  and  must  possess  a  good 
will.  Thus  Jerome  himself,  immediately  on  his  baptism, 
determined  to  remove  whatever  might  prove  a  hindrance 
to  his  ambitions  in  this  respect.  Like  the  man  who  found 
a  treasure  and  "  for  joy  thereof  went  and  sold  all  that  he 
had  and  bought  that  field,"  ^  so  did  Jerome  say  farewell  to 
the  idle  pleasures  of  this  passing  world  ;  he  went  into  the 
desert,  and  since  he  realised  what  risks  he  had  run  in  the 
past  through  the  allurements  of  vice,  he  adopted  a  most 
severe  style  of  life.  With  all  obstacles  thus  removed  he 
prepared  his  soul  for  "  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ " 
and  for  putting  on  Him  Who  was  "  meek  and  humble  of 
heart."  But  he  went  through  what  Augustine  also 
experienced  when  he  took  up  the  study  of  Scripture. 
For  the  latter  has  told  us  how,  steeped  as  a  youth  in 
Cicero  and  profane  authors,  the  Bible  "  seemed  to  me 
unfit  to  be  compared  with  Cicero.  My  swelling  pride 
shrank  from  its  modest  garb,  while  my  gaze  could  not 
pierce  to  what  the  latter  hid.  Of  a  truth  Scripture  was 
meant  to  grow  up  with  the  childlike  ;  but  then  I 
could  not  be  childlike;  turgid  eloquence  appealed 
mightily  to  me."^  So,  too,  St.  Jerome  ;  even  though 
withdrawn  into  the  desert  he  still  found  such  delight 
in  profane  literature  that  at  first  he  failed  to  discern  the 
lowly  Christ  in  His  lowly  Scriptures  : 

"  Wretch  that  I  was  !    I  read  Cicero  even   before  I 
broke  my  fast !     And  after  the  long  night-watches,  when 

*  Matt.  xiii.  44.  2  Concessions  iii.  5;  cf,  viii.  12. 


30  St.   ^Jerome  and  Holy   Scripture 

memory  of  my  past  sins  wrung  tears  from  my  soul,  even 
then  I  took  up  my  Plautus !  Then  perhaps  I  would  come 
to  my  senses  and  would  start  reading  the  Prophets.  But 
their  uncouth  language  made  me  shiver,  and,  since  blind 
eyes  do  not  see  the  light,  I  blamed  the  sun  and  not  my 
own  eyes."^ 

But  in  a  brief  space  Jerome  became  so  enamoured  of 
the  "  folly  of  the  Cross  "  that  he  himself  serves  as  a  proof 
of  the  extent  to  which  a  humble  and  devout  frame  of 
mind  is  conducive  to  the  understanding  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture. He  realised  that  "  in  expounding  Scripture  we 
need  God's  Holy  Spirit  ";2  he  saw  that  one  cannot 
otherwise  read  or  understand  it  "  than  the  Holy  Spirit 
by  Whom  it  was  written  demands."^  Consequently,  he 
was  ever  humbly  praying  for  God's  assistance  and  for  the 
light  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  asking  his  friends  to  do  the 
same  for  him.  We  find  him  commending  to  the  Divine 
assistance  and  to  his  brethren's  prayers  his  Commentaries 
on  various  books  as  he  began  them,  and  then  rendering 
God  due  thanks  when  completed. 


{b)  HE  ALSO  SHOWS  US  THE  NEED  OF  A  LIVELY 
CATHOLIC  FAITH 

As  he  trusted  to  God's  grace,  so  too  did  he  rely  upon 
the  authority  of  his  predecessors  :  *'  What  I  have  learned 
1  did  not  teach  myself — a  wretchedly  presumptuous 
teacher  ! — but  I  learned  it  from  illustrious  men  in  the 
Church.'"*      Again:    "In    studying    Scripture    I    never 

1   Ep.  xxii.  30.  -  In  Mich.  i.  10,  15. 

3  In  Gal.  V.  19.  ^  Ep.  cviii.  26. 


T^he  Encyclical  Letter  31 

trusted  to  myself."^  To  Theophilus,  Bishop  of  Alex- 
andria, he  imparted  the  rule  he  had  laid  down  for  his  own 
student  life  : 

"  It  has  always  been  my  custom  to  fight  for  the  pre- 
rogatives of  a  Christian,  not  to  overpass  the  limits  set  by 
the  Fathers,  always  to  bear  in  mind  that  Roman  faith 
praised  by  the  Apostle."^ 

He  ever  paid  submissive  homage  to  the  Church,  our 
supreme  teacher  through  the  Roman  Pontiffs.  Thus, 
with  a  view  to  putting  an  end  to  the  controversy  raging 
in  the  East  concerning  the  mystery  of  the  Holy  Trinity, 
he  submitted  the  question  to  the  Roman  See  for  settle- 
ment, and  wrote  from  the  Syrian  desert  to  Pope  Damasus 
as  follows : 

"I  decided,  therefore,  to  consult  the  Chair  of  Peter 
and  that  Roman  faith  which  the  Apostle  praised  ;  I  ask 
for  my  soul's  food  from  that  city  wherein  I  first  put  on 
the  garment  of  Christ.  ...  I,  who  follow  no  other 
leader  save  Christ,  associate  myself  with  Your  Blessed- 
ness, in  communion,  that  is,  with  the  Chair  of  Peter. 
For  I  know  the  Church  was  built  upon  that  Rock.  .  .  . 
I  beg  you  to  settle  this  dispute.  If  you  desire  it  I  shall 
not  be  afraid  to  say  there  are  Three  Hypostases.  If  it 
is  your  wish  let  them  draw  up  a  Symbol  of  faith  subse- 
quent to  that  of  Nicaea,  and  let  us  orthodox  praise  God 
in  the  same  form  of  words  as  the  Arians  employ."^ 

And  in  his  next  letter  :  "  Meanwhile  I  keep  crying 
out,  '  Any  man  who  is  joined  to  Peter's  Chair,  he  is  my 
man.'""*     Since  he  had  learnt  this  "  rule  of  faith  "  from 

1  Preefat.  in  i  Paral.  ^  Ep.  Ixiii.  2. 

3  Ep.  XV.  1,  *  Ep.  xvi.  2. 


32  St.    "Jerome  and  Holy  Scripture 

his  study  of  the  Bible,  he  was  able  to  refute  a  false  inter- 
pretation of  a  Biblical  text  with  the  simple  remark  : 
"Yes,  but  the  Church  of  God  does  not  admit  that."^ 
When,  again,  Vigilantius  quoted  an  Apocryphal  book, 
Jerome  was  content  to  reply  :  "  A  book  I  have  never  so 
much  as  read !  For  what  is  the  good  of  soiling  one's 
hands  with  a  book  the  Church  does  not  receive  ?"^ 
With  his  strong  insistence  on  adhering  to  the  integrity 
of  the  faith,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  he  attacked 
vehemently  those  who  left  the  Church ;  he  promptly 
regarded  them  as  his  own  personal  enemies.  "  To  put  it 
briefly,"  he  says,  "  I  have  never  spared  heretics,  and  have 
always  striven  to  regard  the  Church's  enemies  as  my 
own."^  To  Rufinus  he  writes  :  "  There  is  one  point  in 
which  I  cannot  agree  with  you :  you  ask  me  to  spare 
heretics — or,  in  other  words — not  to  prove  myself  a 
Catholic."^  Yet  at  the  same  time  Jerome  deplored  the 
lamentable  state  of  heretics,  and  adjured  them  to  return 
to  their  sorrowing  Mother,  the  one  source  of  salvation  ;^ 
he  prayed,  too,  with  all  earnestness  for  the  conversion  of 
those  *'  who  had  quitted  the  Church  and  put  away  the 
Holy  Spirit's  teaching  to  follow  their  own  notions."^ 

Was  there  ever  a  time.  Venerable  Brethren,  when  there 
was  greater  call  than  now  for  us  all,  lay  and  cleric  alike, 
to  imbibe  the  spirit  of  this  "  Greatest  of  Doctors "  ? 
For  there  are  many  contumacious  folk  now  who  sneer  at 
the  authority  and  government  of  God,  Who  has  revealed 

^  In  Dan.  iii.  37.  ^  jldv.  Vigil.  6. 

3  Dial,  contra  Pelagianos,  Trol.  ii. 

^  Contra  Rufin.  iii.  43. 

^  In  Mich.  i.  10.  '  In  Isa.  xvi.  1-5. 


The  Encyclical  Letter  33 

Himself  and  of  the  Church  which  teaches.  You  know 
— for  Leo  XIII.  warned  us — "how  insistently  men  fight 
against  us ;  you  know  the  arms  and  arts  they  rely  upon." 
It  is  your  duty,  then,  to  train  as  many  really  fit  defenders 
of  this  holiest  of  causes  as  you  can.  They  must  be  ready 
to  combat  not  only  those  who  deny  the  existence  of 
the  Supernatural  Order  altogether,  and  are  thus  led  to 
deny  the  existence  of  any  divine  revelation  or  inspiration, 
but  those,  too,  who — through  an  itching  desire  for  novelty 
— venture  to  interpret  the  sacred  books  as  though  they 
were  of  purely  human  origin  ;  those,  too,  who  scoflF  at 
opinions  held  of  old  in  the  Church,  or  who,  through 
contempt  of  its  teaching  office,  either  reck  little  of,  or 
silently  disregard,  or  at  least  obstinately  endeavour  to 
adapt  to  their  own  views,  the  Constitutions  of  the 
Apostolic  See  or  the  decisions  of  the  Pontifical  Biblical 
Commission. 

Would  that  all  Catholics  would  cling  to  St.  Jerome's 
golden  rule  and  obediently  listen  to  their  Mother's  words, 
so  as  modestly  to  keep  within  the  bounds  marked  out  by 
the  Fathers  and  ratified  by  the  Church. 

To  return,  however,  to  the  question  of  the  formation 
of  Biblical  students.  We  must  lay  the  foundations  in 
piety  and  humility  of  mind  ;  only  when  we  have  done 
that  does  St.  Jerome  invite  us  to  study  the  Bible.  In 
the  first  place,  he  insists,  in  season  and  out,  on  daily 
reading  of  the  text.  "Provided,"  he  says,  *' our  bodies 
are  not  the  slaves  of  sin,  wisdom  will  come  to  us  ;  but 
exercise  your  mind,  feed  it  daily  with  Holy  Scripture."^ 
And  again  : 

^  Comment,  on  Tit.  iii.  9. 


34  St.   'Jerome  and  Holy  Scripture 

"  We  have  got,  then,  to  read  Holy  Scripture  assidu- 
ously ;  we  have  got  to  meditate  on  the  Law  of  God  day 
and  night  so  that,  as  expert  money-changers,  we  may  be 
able  to  detect  false  coin  from  true,"^ 

For  matrons  and  maidens  alike  he  lays  down  the  same 
rule.  Thus,  writing  to  the  Roman  matron  Laeta  about 
her  daughter's  training,  he  says  : 

*'  Every  day  she  should  give  you  a  definite  account  of 
her  Bible-reading.  .  .  .  For  her  the  Bible  must  take 
the  place  of  silks  and  jewels.  .  .  .  Let  her  learn  the 
Psalter  first,  and  find  her  recreation  in  its  songs  ;  let  her 
learn  from  Solomon's  Proverbs  the  way  of  life,  from 
Ecclesiastes  how  to  trample  on  the  world.  In  Job  she 
will  find  an  example  of  patient  virtue.  Thence  let  her 
pass  to  the  Gospels  ;  they  should  always  be  in  her  hands. 
She  should  steep  herself  in  the  Acts  and  the  Epistles. 
And  when  she  has  enriched  her  soul  with  these  treasures 
she  should  commit  to  memory  the  Prophets,  the  Hepta- 
teuch, Kings  and  Chronicles,  Esdras  and  Esther  ;  then 
she  can  learn  the  Canticle  of  Canticles  without  any  fear."^ 

He  says  the  same  to  Eustochium : 

"  Read  assiduously  and  learn  as  much  as  you  can. 
Let  sleep  find  you  holding  your  Bible,  and  when  your 
head  nods  let  it  be  resting  on  the  sacred  page."^ 

When  he  sent  Eustochium  the  epitaph  he  had  composed 
for  her  mother  Paula,  he  especially  praises  that  holy  woman 
for  having  so  whole-heartedly  devoted  herself  and  her 
daughter  to  Bible  study  that  she  knew  the  Bible  through 
and  through,  and  had  committed  it  to  memory.  He 
continues  : 

1  Comment,  on  Eph.  iv.  31.  ^  Epi  cvii.  9. 

3  Ep.  xxii.  17,  29. 


The    'Encyclical  hetter  35 

"  I  will  tell  you  another  thing  about  her,  though  evil- 
disposed  people  may  cavil  at  it  :  she  determined  to  learn 
Hebrew,  a  language  which  1  myself,  with  immense  labour 
and  toil  from  my  youth  upwards,  have  only  partly  learned, 
and  which  I  even  now  dare  not  cease  studying  lest  it 
should  quit  me.  But  Paula  learned  it,  and  so  well  that 
she  could  chant  the  Psalms  in  Hebrew,  and  could  speak 
it,  too,  without  any  trace  of  a  Latin  accent.  We  can  see 
the  same  thing  even  now  in  her  daughter  Eustochium."^ 

He  tells  us  much  the  same  of  Marcella,  who  also  knew 
the  Bible  exceedingly  well.^  And  none  can  fail  to  see 
what  profit  and  sweet  tranquillity  must  result  in  well- 
disposed  souls  from  such  devout  reading  of  the  Bible. 
Whosoever  comes  to  it  in  piety,  faith  and  humility,  and 
with  a  determination  to  make  progress  in  it,  will  assuredly 
find  therein  and  will  eat  the  "  Bread  that  cometh  down 
from  heaven "  ;  he  will,  in  his  own  person,  experi- 
ence the  truth  of  David's  words :  "  The  hidden  and 
uncertain  things  of  Thy  Wisdom  Thou  hast  made 
manifest  to  me  !"  For  this  table  of  the  "  Divine  Word  " 
does  really  "  contain  holy  teaching,  teach  the  true  faith, 
and  lead  us  unfalteringly  beyond  the  veil  into  the  Holy 
of  holies."  3 

Hence,  as  far  as  in  us  lies,  we,  Venerable  Brethren, 
shall,  with  St.  Jerome  as  our  guide,  never  desist  from 
urging  the  faithful  to  read  daily  the  Gospels,  the  Acts 
and  the  Epistles,  so  as  to  gather  thence  food  for  their 
souls. 

Our  thoughts  naturally  turn  just  now  to  the  Society 
of  St.  Jerome,  which  we  ourselves  were  instrumental  in 

1  Ep.  cviii.  26.  ^  Ep,  cxxvii.  7. 

'  Imitatio  Christi  iv.  1 1 . 


36  St.   'Jerome  and  Holy   Scripture 

founding  ;  its  success  has  gladdened  us,  and  we  trust 
that  the  future  will  see  a  great  impulse  given  to  it. 

The  object  of  this  Society  is  to  put  into  the  hands  of 
as  many  people  as  possible  the  Gospels  and  Acts,  so  that 
every  Christian  family  may  have  them  and  become 
accustomed  to  reading  them.  This  we  have  much  at 
heart,  for  we  have  seen  how  useful  it  is.  We  earnestly 
hope,  then,  that  similar  Societies  will  be  founded  in  your 
dioceses  and  affiliated  to  the  parent  Society  here. 

Commendation,  too,  is  due  to  Catholics  in  other 
countries  who  have  published  the  entire  New  Testament, 
as  well  as  selected  portions  of  the  Old,  in  neat  and  simple 
form  so  as  to  popularise  their  use.  Much  gain  must 
accrue  to  the  Church  of  God  when  numbers  of  people 
thus  approach  this  table  of  heavenly  instruction  which 
the  Lord  provided  through  the  ministry  of  His  Prophets, 
Apostles  and  Doctors,  for  the  entire  Christian  world. 


The  Encyclical  Letter  37 


The  Part  the  Bible  must  play  in 
Priestly  Education 

{a)  THE  NEED  OF  BIBLICAL  LEARNING 

IF,  then,  St.  Jerome  begs  for  assiduous  reading  of  the 
Bible  by  the  faithful  in  general,  he  insists  on  it  for 
those  who  are  called  to  "  bear  the  yoke  of  Christ " 
and  preach  His  word.     His  words  to  Rusticus  the  monk 
apply  to  all  clerics  : 

"  So  long  as  you  are  in  your  own  country  regard  your 
cell  as  your  orchard ;  there  you  can  gather  Scripture's 
various  fruits  and  enjoy  the  pleasures  it  affords  you. 
Always  have  a  book  in  your  hands — and  read  it  ;  learn 
the  Psalter  by  heart  ;  pray  unceasingly  ;  watch  over  your 
senses  lest  idle  thoughts  creep  in."^ 

Similarly  to  Nepotian  : 

"  Constantly  read  the  Bible  ;  in  fact,  have  it  always  in 
your  hands.  Learn  what  you  have  got  to  teach.  Get 
firm  hold  of  that  *  faithful  word  that  is  according  to 
doctrine,  that  you  may  be  able  to  exhort  in  sound  doctrine 
and  convince  the  gainsayers.'  "^ 

When  reminding  Paulinus  of  the  lessons  St.  Paul 
gave  to  Timothy  and  Titus,  and  which  he  himself  had 
derived  from  the  Bible,  Jerome  says : 

"A  mere  holy  rusticity  only  avails  the  man  himself; 
but  however  much  a  life  so  meritorious  may  serve  to  build 

*  Ep.  cxxvii.  7,  II.  2  Ep.  lii.  7;  r/i  Tit.  i.  9. 


38  St.   'Jerome  and  Holy  Scripture 

up  the  Church  of  God,  it  does  quite  as  much  harm  to  the 
Church  if  it  fails  to  '  resist  the  gainsayer.'  Malachi  the 
Prophet  says,  or  rather  the  Lord  says  it  by  Malachi  : 
'  Ask  for  the  Law  from  the  priests.'  For  it  is  the  priest's 
duty  to  give  an  answer  when  asked  about  the  Law.  In 
Deuteronomy  we  read  :  *  Ask  thy  father  and  he  will  tell 
thee  ;  ask  the  priests  and  they  will  tell  thee.  .  .  .'  Daniel, 
too,  at  the  close  of  his  glorious  vision,  declares  that  *  the 
just  shall  shine  like  stars  and  they  that  are  learned  as  the 
brightness  of  the  firmament.'  What  a  vast  difference,  then, 
between  a  righteous  rusticity  and  a  learned  righteousness  ! 
The  former  likened  to  the  stars  ;  the  latter  to  the  heavens 
themselves  I"  ^ 

He  writes  ironically  to  Marcella  about  the  "  self- 
righteous  lack  of  education"  noticeable  in  some  clerics, 
who 

"  think  that  to  be  without  culture  and  to  be  holy  are  the 
same  thing,  and  who  dub  themselves  *  disciples  of  the 
fisherman';  as  though  they  were  holy  simply  because 
ignorant  l"^ 

Nor  is  it  only  the  "  uncultured  "  whom  Jerome  condemns. 
Learned  clerics  sin  through  ignorance  of  the  Bible  ;  there- 
fore he  demands  of  them  an  assiduous  reading  of  the  text. 

Kb)  OF  THE  PONTIFICAL  BIBLICAL  INSTITUTE 

Strive,  then.  Venerable  Brethren,  to  bring  home  to  your 
clerics  and  priests  these  teachings  of  the  Sainted  Com- 
mentator. You  have  to  remind  them  constantly  of  the 
demands  made  by  their  divine  vocation  if  they  would  be 
worthy  of  it :  "  The  lips  of  the  priest  shall  keep  knowledge, 
and  men  shall  ask  the  Law  at  his  mouth,  for  he  is  the 

^  Ep.  liii.  3.  ^  Ep.  xxvii.  i. 


The  Encyclical  Letter  39 

Angel  of  the  Lord  of  hosts."  ^  They  must  realise,  then, 
that  they  cannot  neglect  study  of  the  Bible,  and  that  this 
can  only  be  undertaken  along  the  lines  laid  down  by 
Leo  XIII.  in  his  Encyclical,  "  Providentissimus  Deus." 
They  cannot  do  this  better  than  by  frequenting  the 
Biblical  Institute  established  by  our  predecessor,  Pius  X., 
in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  Leo  XIII.  As  the 
experience  of  the  past  ten  years  has  shown,  it  has  proved 
a  great  gain  to  the  Church.  Not  all,  however,  can  avail 
themselves  of  this.  It  will  be  well,  then.  Venerable 
Brethren,  that  picked  men,  both  of  the  secular  and  regular 
clergy,  should  come  to  Rome  for  Biblical  study.  All  will 
not  come  with  the  same  object.  Some,  in  accordance  with 
the  real  purpose  of  the  Institute,  will  so  devote  themselves 
to  Biblical  study  that  "  afterwards,  both  in  private  and  in 
public,  whether  by  writing  or  by  teaching,  whether  as 
professors  in  Catholic  schools  or  by  writing  in  defence  of 
Catholic  truth,  they  may  be  able  worthily  to  uphold  the 
cause  of  Biblical  study. "^  Others,  however,  already 
priests,  will  obtain  here  a  wider  knowledge  of  the  Bible 
than  they  were  able  to  acquire  during  their  theological 
course  ;  they  will  gain,  too,  an  acquaintance  with  the 
great  commentators  and  with  Biblical  history  and 
geography.  Such  knowledge  will  avail  them  much  in 
their  ministry;  they  will  be  "instructed  to  every  good 
work."3 

1  Mai.  ii.  7. 

2  Pius  X.,  Finea  eiecta,  May  7,  1909. 
^  2  Tim.  iii.  17. 


40  St.  'Jerome  and  Holy  Scripture 

(f)  THE   IMMEDIATE   GOAL   OF  OUR  STUDY   OF 
THE  BIBLE  IS  OUR  OWN  SPIRITUAL  FORMATION 

We  learn,  then,  from  St.  Jerome's  example  and  teaching 
the  qualities  required  in  one  who  would  devote  himself  to 
Biblical  study.  But  what,  in  his  view,  is  the  goal  of 
such  study  ?  First,  that  from  the  Bible's  pages  we  learn 
spiritual  perfection.  Meditating  as  he  did  day  and  night 
on  the  Law  of  the  Lord  and  on  His  Scriptures,  Jerome 
himself  found  there  the  *'  Bread  that  cometh  down  from 
heaven,"  the  manna  containing  all  delights.^  And  we 
certainly  cannot  do  without  that  bread.  How  can  a  cleric 
teach  others  the  way  of  salvation  if  through  neglect  of 
meditation  on  God's  word  he  fails  to  teach  himself? 
What  confidence  can  he  have  that,  when  ministering  to 
others,  he  is  really  "  a  leader  of  the  blind,  a  light  to  them 
that  are  in  darkness,  an  instructor  of  the  foolish,  having 
the  form  of  knowledge  and  of  truth  in  the  law,"  if  he  is 
unwilling  to  study  the  said  Law  and  thus  shuts  the  door 
on  any  divine  illumination  on  it  ? 

Alas  !  many  of  God's  ministers,  through  never  looking 
at  their  Bible,  perish  themselves  and  allow  many  others  to 
perish  also.  "  The  children  have  asked  for  bread,  and  there 
was  none  to  break  it  to  them  ";2  and  "With  desolation 
is  all  the  land  made  desolate,  for  there  is  none  that 
meditateth  in  the  heart,"^ 

(0  THE  LESS  IMMEDIATE  GOAL  IS  THE 
DEFENCE  OF  CATHOLIC  TRUTH 

Secondly,  it  is  from  the  Bible  that  we  gather  confirma- 
tions and  illustrations  of  any  particular  doctrine  we  wish 

^  Tract,  in  Ps.  cxlvii.  ^  Lam.  iv.  4.  ^  Jcr.  xii.  11. 


The   Encyclical  letter  41 

to  defend.  In  this  Jerome  was  marvellously  expert. 
When  disputing  with  the  heretics  of  his  day  he  refuted 
by  singularly  apt  and  weighty  arguments  drawn  from  the 
Bible.  If  men  of  the  present  age  would  but  imitate  him 
in  this  we  should  see  realised  what  our  predecessor, 
Leo  XIII.,  in  his  Encyclical,  "  Providentissimus  Deus," 
said  was  so  eminently  desirable  :  "  The  Bible  influencing 
our  theological  teaching  and  indeed  becoming  its  very 
soul." 

Lastly,  the  real  value  of  the  Bible  is  for  our  preaching — 
if  the  latter  is  to  be  fruitful.  On  this  point  it  is  a  pleasure 
to  illustrate  from  Jerome  what  we  ourselves  said  in  our 
Encyclical  on  "preaching  the  Word  of  God,"  entitled 
Humani  generis.  How  insistently  Jerome  urges  on  priests 
assiduous  reading  of  the  Bible  if  they  would  worthily 
teach  and  preach!  Their  words  will  have  neither  value 
nor  weight  nor  any  power  to  touch  men's  souls  save  in 
proportion  as  they  are  "  informed  "  by  Holy  Scripture : 
"  Let  a  priest's  speech  be  seasoned  with  the  Bible, "^  for 
"  the  Scriptures  are  a  trumpet  that  stirs  us  with  a  mighty 
voice  and  penetrates  to  the  souls  of  them  that  believe,"^ 
and  "  nothing  so  strikes  home  as  an  example  taken  from 
the  Bible. "« 

{e)   FOR  THIS  PURPOSE  ST.  JEROME  LAYS  DOWN 
CERTAIN  RULES  OF  INTERPRETATION 

These  mainly  concern  the  exegetes,  yet  preachers,  too, 

must  always  bear  them  in  mind.     Jerome's  first  rule  is 

careful  study  of  the  actual  words  so  that  we  may  be  perfectly 

certain  what  the  writer  really  does  say.     He  was  most 

1  Ep.  Hi.  8.  2  In  Amos  iii.  3.  ^  Iji  Zach.  ix.  15. 


42  St.   'Jerome  and  Holy  Scripture 

careful  to  consult  the  original  text,  to  compare  various 
versions,  and,  if  he  discovered  any  mistake  in  them,  to 
explain  it  and  thus  make  the  text  perfectly  clear.  The 
precise  meaning,  too,  that  attaches  to  particular  words  has 
to  be  worked  out,  for  **  when  discussing  Holy  Scripture 
it  is  not  words  we  want  so  much  as  the  meaning  of 
words." ^  We  do  not  for  a  moment  deny  that  Jerome, 
in  imitation  of  Latin  and  Greek  doctors  before  him, 
leaned  too  much,  especially  at  the  outset,  towards 
allegorical  interpretations.  But  his  love  of  the  Bible,  his 
unceasing  toil  in  reading  and  re-reading  it  and  weighing 
its  meaning,  compelled  him  to  an  ever-growing  apprecia- 
tion of  its  literal  sense  and  to  the  formulation  of  sound 
principles  regarding  it.  These  we  set  down  here,  for  they 
mark  out  a  safe  path  for  us  if  we  would  discover  the 
Bible's  meaning. 

In  the  first  place,  then,  we  must  study  the  literal  or 
historical  meaning  : 

"  I  earnestly  warn  the  prudent  reader  not  to  pay 
attention  to  superstitious  interpretations  such  as  are 
given  cut  and  dried  according  to  some  interpreter's  fancy. 
He  should  study  the  beginning,  middle,  and  end,  and  so 
form  a  connected  idea  of  the  whole  of  what  he  finds 
written."^ 

Jerome  then  goes  on  to  say  that  all  interpretation  rests 
on  the  literal  sense,^  and  that  we  are  not  to  think  that 
there  is  no  literal  sense  merely  because  a  thing  is  said 
metaphorically,  for  "  the  history  itself  is  often  presented 
in  metaphorical  dress  and  described  figuratively."*    Indeed, 

1   Ep.  xxix.  I.  ^  In  Matt.  xxv.  13. 

3  Cf.  in  Ezech.  xxxviii.  I;  xli.  23;  in  Marc.  i.  13-31;   Ep-  cxxix.  6, 

*  In  Hab.  iii.  14. 


'The  Encyclical  Letter  43 

he  himself  affords  the  best  refutation  of  those  who  main- 
tain that  he  says  that  certain  passages  have  no  historical 
meaning  :  "  We  are  not  rejecting  the  history,  we  are 
merely  giving  a  spiritual  interpretation  of  it."^  Once, 
however,  he  has  firmly  established  the  literal  or  historical 
meaning,  Jerome  goes  on  to  seek  out  deeper  and  hidden 
meanings,  so  as  to  nourish  his  mind  with  more  delicate 
food.  Thus  he  says  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs — and  he 
makes  the  same  remark  about  other  parts  of  the  Bible — 
that  we  must  not  stop  at  the  simple  literal  sense  : 

"  Just  as  we  have  to  seek  gold  in  the  earth,  for  the 
kernel  in  the  shell,  for  the  chestnut's  hidden  fruit  beneath 
its  hairy  coverings,  so  in  Holy  Scripture  we  have  to  dig 
deep  for  its  divine  meaning.  "^ 

When  teaching  Paulinus  "  how  to  make  true  progress 
in  the  Bible,"  he  says  : 

"  Everything  we  read  in  the  Sacred  Books  shines  and 
glitters  even  in  its  outer  shell  ;  but  the  marrow  of  it  is 
sweeter.  If  you  want  the  kernel  you  must  break  the 
shell."« 

At  the  same  time,  he  insists  that  in  searching  for  this 
deeper  meaning  we  must  proceed  in  due  order,  "  lest  in 
our  search  for  spiritual  riches  we  seem  to  despise  the 
history  as  poverty-stricken. " ^  Consequently  he  repudiates 
many  mystical  interpretations  alleged  by  ancient  writers  ; 
for  he  feels  that  they  are  not  sufficiently  based  on  the 
literal  meaning : 

1   In  Mark  ix.  1-7  ;  cf.  in  Ezech.  xl.  24-27. 
'^  In  Eccles.  xii.  9.  ^  Ep.  lix.  9. 

4  In  Eccles.  ii.  24. 


44  St.   Jerome  and  Holy  Scripture 

*'  When  all  these  promises  of  which  the  Prophets  sang 
are  regarded  not  merely  as  empty  sounds  or  idle  tropo- 
logical  expressions,  but  as  stablished  on  earth  and  having 
solid  historical  foundations,  then,  and  only  then,  can  we 
put  on  them  the  coping-stone  of  a  spiritual  interpretation."^ 

On  this  point  he  makes  the  wise  remark  that  we  ought 
not  to  desert  the  path  mapped  out  by  Christ  and  His 
Apostles,  who,  while  regarding  the  Old  Testament  as 
preparing  for  and  foreshadowing  the  New  Covenant,  and 
whilst  consequently  explaining  various  passages  in  the 
former  as  figurative,  yet  do  not  give  a  figurative  interpre- 
tation of  all  alike.  In  confirmation  of  this  he  often  refers 
us  to  St.  Paul,  who,  when 

"  explaining  the  mystery  of  Adam  and  Eve,  did  not 
deny  that  they  were  formed,  but  on  that  historical  basis 
erected  a  spiritual  interpretation,  and  said :  '  Therefore 
shall  a  man  leave,'  etc."^ 


(/)   IN  WHAT  TRUE  PULPIT  ELOQUENCE 
CONSISTS 

If  only  Biblical  students  and  preachers  would  but 
follow  this  example  of  Christ  and  His  Apostles  ;  if  they 
would  but  obey  the  directions  of  Leo  XIIL,  and  not 
neglect  "  those  allegorical  or  similar  explanations  which 
the  Fathers  have  given,  especially  when  these  are  based 
on  the  literal  sense,  and  are  supported  by  weighty 
authority ";  if  they  would  pass  from  the  literal  to  the 
more  profound  meaning  in  temperate  fashion,  and  thus 
lift  themselves  to  a  higher  plane,  they  would,  with  St. 
Jerome,  realise  how  true  are  St.  Paul's  words  :  *'  All 
*  In  Amos  ix.  6.  2  j„  jga.  yi.  1-7. 


The  Encyclical  Letter  45 

Scripture  inspired  of  God  is  profitable  to  teach,  to  reprove, 
to  correct,  to  instruct  injustice."^ 

They  would,  too,  derive  abundant  help  from  the 
infinite  treasury  of  facts  and  ideas  in  the  Bible,  and  would 
thence  be  able  to  mould  firmly  but  gently  the  lives  and 
characters  of  the  faithful. 

As  for  methods  of  expounding  Holy  Scripture — "  for 
amongst  the  dispensers  of  the  mysteries  of  God  it  is 
required  that  a  man  be  found  faithful  " — St.  Jerome  lays 
down  that  we  have  got  to  keep  to  the 

"  true  interpretation,  and  that  the  real  function  of  a 
commentator  is  to  set  forth  not  what  he  himself  would 
like  his  author  to  mean,  but  what  he  really  does  mean."^ 

And  he  continues : 

"It  is  dangerous  to  speak  in  the  Church,  lest  through 
some  faulty  interpretation  we  make  Christ's  Gospel  into 
man's  Gospel."^ 

And  again  : 

"  In  explaining  the  Bible  we  need  no  florid  oratorical 
composition,  but  that  learned  simplicity  which  is  truth."  ^ 

This  ideal  he  ever  kept  before  him  ;  he  acknowledges 
that  in  his  Commentaries  he  "  seeks  no  praise,  but  so  to 
set  out  what  another  has  well  said  that  it  may  be  under- 
stood in  the  sense  in  which  it  was  said."^  He  further 
demands  of  an  expositor  of  Scripture  a  style  which, 

*'  while  leaving  no  impression  of  haziness  .  .  .  yet 
explains  things,  sets  out  the  meaning,  clears  up  obscurities, 
and  is  not  mere  verbiage."^ 

1  2  Tim.  iii.  l6.  2  £p^  ^lix.  (xlviii.)  17. 

s  In  Gal.  i.  1 1.  *  Pnef.  in  Amos. 

^  Praf.  in  Gal.  *  Ep.  xxxvi.  14;  cf.  cxl.  i. 


46  St.   'Jerome  and  Holy  Scripture 

And  here  we  may  set  down  some  passages  from  his 
writings  which  will  serve  to  show  to  what  an  extent  he 
shrank  from  that  declamatory  kind  of  eloquence  which 
simply  aims  at  winning  empty  applause  by  an  equally 
empty  and  noisy  flow  of  words.     He  says  to  Nepotian  : 

"  I  do  not  'want  you  to  be  a  declaimer  or  a  garrulous 
brawler  ;  rather  be  skilled  in  the  Mysteries,  learned  in 
the  Sacraments  of  God.  To  make  the  populace  gape  by 
spinning  words  and  speaking  like  a  whirlwind  is  only 
worthy  of  empty-headed  men."^ 

And  once  more  : 

"Students  ordained  at  this  time  seem  not  to  think 
how  they  may  get  at  the  real  marrow  of  Holy  Scripture, 
but  how  best  they  may  make  peoples'  ears  tingle  by  their 
flowery  declamations  F'^ 

Again  : 

"  I  prefer  to  say  nothing  of  men  who,  like  myself, 
have  passed  from  profane  literature  to  Biblical  study,  but 
who,  if  they  happen  once  to  have  caught  men's  ears 
by  their  ornate  sermons,  straightway  begin  to  fancy  that 
whatsoever  they  say  is  God's  law.  Apparently  they 
do  not  think  it  worth  while  to  discover  what  the  Prophets 
and  Apostles  really  meant  ;  they  are  content  to  string 
together  texts  made  to  fit  the  meaning  they  want.  One 
would  almost  fancy  that  instead  of  being  a  degraded 
species  of  oratory,  it  must  be  a  fine  thing  to  pervert 
the  meaning  of  the  text  and  compel  the  reluctant  Scripture 
to  yield  the  meaning  one  wants  !"^ 

1  Ep.  Hi.  8. 

2  Dialog  us  contra  Luciferianos  xi. 

3  ^p^  Yn\.  7. 


The  Encyclical  Letter  47 

"  As  a  matter  of  fact,  mere  loquacity  would  not  win 
any  credit  unless  backed  by  Scriptural  authority,  when, 
that  is,  men  see  that  the  speaker  is  trying  to  give  his 
false  doctrine  Biblical  support."^ 

Moreover,  this  garrulous  eloquence  and  wordy  rusticity 

"  lacks  biting  power,  has  nothing  vivid  or  life-giving 
in  it  ;  it  is  flaccid,  languid  and  enervated ;  it  is  like 
boiled  herbs  and  grass,  which  speedily  dry  up  and  wither 
away." 

On  the  contrary  the  Gospel  teaching  is  straightforward, 
it  is  like  that  "least  of  all  seeds" — the  mustard  seed — "no 
mere  vegetable,  but  something  that  'grows  into  a  tree 
so  that  the  birds  of  the  air  come  and  dwell  in  its 
branches.'  "^  The  consequence  is  that  everybody  hears 
gladly  this  simple  and  holy  fashion  of  speech,  for  it  is 
clear  and  has  real  beauty  without  artificiality  : 

"  There  are  certain  eloquent  folk  who  puiF  out  their 
cheeks  and  produce  a  foaming  torrent  of  words  ;  may 
they  win  all  the  eulogiums  they  crave  for !  For  myself, 
1  prefer  so  to  speak  that  I  may  be  intelligible  ;  when  I 
discuss  the  Bible  I  prefer  the  Bible's  simplicity.  .  .  .^  'A 
cleric's  exposition  of  the  Bible  should,  of  course,  have 
a  certain  becoming  eloquence ;  but  he  must  keep  this 
in  the  background,  for  he  must  ever  have  in  view  the 
human  race  and  not  the  leisurely  philosophical  schools 
with  their  choice  coterie  of  disciples.'  "^ 

1  Tit.  i.  10. 

^  Comment,  in  Matt.  xiii.  32. 

^  Ep.  xxxvi.  14. 

*   Ep.  xlviii.  (xlix.)  4. 


48  Sf.   'Jerome  and  Holy  Scripture 

If  the  younger  clergy  would  but  strive  to  reduce 
principles  like  these  to  practice,  and  if  their  elders  would 
keep  such  principles  before  their  eyes,  we  are  well 
assured  that  they  would  prove  of  very  real  assistance  to 
those  to  whom  they  minister. 


'The  Encyclical  Letter  49 


F 

The   Ultimate  Goal  of  Biblical  Study 

IN  THE  BIBLE  WE  SHALL  DISCOVER  THE  SOUL'S 
TRUE  DELIGHTS.  IN  IT  WE  SHALL  ALSO 
DISCOVER  THE  CHURCH.  WE  SHALL  THEN 
LEARN  WITH  ST.  JEROME  WHAT  IT  IS  TO 
LABOUR  FOR  LOVE  OF  CHRIST 

IT  only  remains  for  us,  Venerable  Brethren,  to  refer  to 
those  '*  sweet  fruits "  which  Jerome  gathered  from 
"  the  bitter  seed  "  of  literature.  For  we  confidently 
hope  that  his  example  will  fire  both  clergy  and  laity 
with  enthusiasm  for  the  study  of  the  Bible.  It  will 
be  better,  however,  for  you  to  gather  from  the  lips 
of  the  saintly  hermit  rather  than  from  our  words  what 
real  spiritual  delight  he  found  in  the  Bible  and  its  study. 
Notice,  then,  in  what  strain  he  writes  to  Paulinus,  "  my 
companion,  friend,  and  fellow-mystic  ": 

"  I  beseech  you  to  live  amidst  these  things.  To 
meditate  on  them,  to  know  nought  else,  to  have  no  other 
interests,  this  is  really  a  foretaste  of  the  joys  of  heaven."^ 

He  says  much  the  same  to  his  pupil  Paula  : 

"  Tell  me  whether  you  know  of  anything  more  sacred 
than  this  sacred  mystery,  anything  more  delightful  than  the 
pleasure  found  herein  ?  W^hat  food,  what  honey  could  be 
sweeter  than  to  learn  of  God's  Providence,  to  enter  into  His 

1  Ep.  liii.  10. 


5b  St.   'Jerome  and  Holy  Scripture 


shrine  and  look  into  the  mind  of  the  Creator,  to  listen  to 
the  Lord's  words  at  which  the  wise  of  this  world  laugh, 
but  which  really  are  full  of  spiritual  teaching  ?  Others 
may  have  their  wealth,  may  drink  out  of  jewelled  cups, 
be  clad  in  silks,  enjoy  popular  applause,  find  it  impossible 
to  exhaust  their  wealth  by  dissipating  it  in  pleasures  of 
all  kinds  ;  but  our  delight  is  to  meditate  on  the  Law 
of  the  Lord  day  and  night,  to  knock  at  His  door  when 
shut,  to  receive  our  food  from  the  Trinity  of  Persons, 
and,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Lord,  trample  under  foot 
the  swelling  tumults  of  this  world.  "^ 

And  in  his  Commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians, 
which  he  dedicated  to  Paula  and  her  daughter  Eustochium, 
he  says : 

"  If  aught  could  induce  a  wise  man  to  cling  to  this  life 
or  help  him  to  preserve  his  equanimity  amid  the  conflicts 
of  the  world,  it  is,  I  reckon,  meditation  on  and  knowledge 
oftheBible."^ 

And  so  it  was  with  Jerome  himself:  afflicted  with 
many  mental  anxieties  and  bodily  pains,  he  yet  ever 
enjoyed  an  interior  peace.  Nor  was  this  due  simply 
to  some  idle  pleasure  he  found  in  such  studies  :  it  sprang 
from  love  of  God  and  it  worked  itself  out  in  an  earnest 
love  of  God's  Church — the  divinely  appointed  guardian 
of  God's  Word.  For  in  the  Books  of  both  Testaments 
Jerome  saw  the  Church  of  God  foretold.  Did  not 
practically  every  one  of  the  illustrious  and  sainted  women 
who  hold  place  of  honour  in  the  Old  Testament  prefigure 
the  Church,  God's  Spouse?  Did  not  the  priesthood, 
the    sacrifices,    the    solemnities,    nay,    nearly    everything 

1  Ep,  XXX.  13.  ^  Prol.  in  Eph. 


The    'Encyclical  Letter  51 

described  in  the  Old  Testament,  shadow  forth  that  same 
Church  ?  How  many  Psalms  and  Prophecies  he  saw 
fulfilled  in  that  Church  ?  To  him  it  was  clear  that 
the  Church's  greatest  privileges  were  set  forth  by  Christ 
and  His  Apostles.  Small  wonder,  then,  that  growing 
familiarity  with  the  Bible  meant  for  Jerome  growing  love 
of  the  Spouse  of  Christ.  We  have  seen  with  what 
reverent  yet  enthusiastic  love  he  attached  himself  to 
the  Roman  Church  and  to  the  See  of  Peter,  how  eagerly 
he  attacked  those  who  assailed  her.  So  when  applauding 
Augustine,  his  junior  yet  his  fellow- soldier,  and  rejoicing 
in  the  fact  that  they  were  one  in  their  hatred  of  heresy, 
he  hails  him  with  the  words  : 

"  Well  done  !  You  are  famous  throughout  the  world. 
Catholics  revere  you  and  point  you  out  as  the  stablisher  of 
the  old-time  faith  ;  and — an  even  greater  glory — all 
heretics  hate  you.  And  they  hate  me  too  ;  unable  to  slay 
us  with  the  sword  they  would  that  wishes  could  kill."^ 

Sulpicius  Severus  quotes  Postumianus  to  the  same  effect : 

"  His  unceasing  conflict  with  wicked  men  brings  on  him 
their  hatred.  Heretics  hate  him,  for  he  never  ceases 
attacking  them  ;  clerics  hate  him,  for  he  assails  their 
criminal  lives.   But  all  good  men  admire  him  andlovehim."* 

And  Jerome  had  to  endure  much  from  heretics  and 
abandoned  men,  especially  when  the  Pelagians  laid  waste 
the  monastery  at  Bethlehem.  Yet  all  this  he  bore  with 
equanimity,  like  a  man  who  would  not  hesitate  to  die  for 
the  faith  : 

•*  I  rejoice  when  I  hear  that  my  children  are  fighting 
for  Christ.      May  He  in  whom  we  believe  confirm  our 
1   Ep.  cxli.  2.  2  q^ial,  i.  9. 


52  St.   'Jerome  and  Holy  Scripture 

zeal  so  that  we  may  gladly  shed  our  blood  for  His  faith. 
Our  very  home  is — as  far  as  worldly  belongings  go — 
completely  ruined  by  the  heretics  ;  yet  through  Christ's 
mercy  it  is  filled  with  spiritual  riches.  It  is  better  to 
have  to  be  content  with  dry  bread  than  to  lose  one's 
faith."^ 

And  while  he  never  suffered  errors  to  creep  in  un- 
noticed, he  likewise  never  failed  to  lash  with  biting 
tongue  any  looseness  in  morals,  for  he  was  always  anxious 
"  to  present,"  unto  Christ  "  a  glorious  Church,  not  having 
spot  or  wrinkle  or  any  such  thing,  but  that  it  should  be 
holy  and  without  blemish."*  How  terribly  he  upbraids 
men  who  have  degraded  the  dignity  of  the  priesthood ! 
With  what  vigour  he  inveighs  against  the  pagan  morals 
then  infecting  Rome !  But  he  rightly  felt  that  nothing 
could  better  avail  to  stem  this  flood  of  vice  than  the 
spectacle  afforded  by  the  real  beauty  of  the  Christian  life ; 
and  that  a  love  of  what  is  really  good  is  the  best  antidote 
to  evil.  Hence  he  urged  that  young  people  must  be 
piously  brought  up,  the  married  taught  a  holy  integrity 
of  life,  pure  souls  have  the  beauty  of  virginity  put  before 
them,  that  the  sweet  austerity  of  an  interior  life  should  be 
extolled,  and  since  the  primal  law  of  Christian  religion 
was  the  combination  of  toil  with  charity,  that  if  this  could 
only  be  preserved  human  society  would  recover  from  its 
disturbed  state.     Of  this  charity  he  says  very  beautifully  : 

"  The  believing  soul  is  Christ's  true  temple.  Adorn 
it,  deck  it  out,  offer  your  gifts  to  it,  in  it  receive  Christ. 
Of  what  profit  to  have  your  walls  glittering  with  jewels 
while  Christ  dies  of  hunger  in  poverty?"^ 

1  Ef.  cxxxix.  2  Eph.  V.  27.  ^  Ep.  Iviii.  7. 


The  Encyclical  Letter  53 

As  for  toil,  his  whole  life  and  not  merely  his  writings 
afford  the  best  example.  Postumianus,  who  spent  six 
months  with  him  at  Bethlehem,  says :  "  He  is  wholly  occu- 
pied in  reading  and  with  books  ;  he  rests  neither  day  nor 
night ;  he  is  always  either  reading  or  writing  something."^ 
Jerome's  love  of  the  Church,  too,  shines  out  even  in  his 
Commentaries  wherein  he  lets  slip  no  opportunity  for 
praising  the  Spouse  of  Christ : 

"  The  choicest  things  of  all  the  nations  have  come  and 
the  Lord's  House  is  filled  with  glory:  that  is,  'the  Church 
of  the  Living  God,  the  pillar  and  the  ground  of  truth.' 
.  .  .  With  jewels  like  these  is  the  Church  richer  than  ever 
was  the  synagogue  ;  with  these  living  stones  is  the  House 
of  God  built  up  and  eternal  peace  bestowed  upon  her."^ 

"  Come,  let  us  go  up  to  the  Mount  of  the  Lord :  for  we 
must  needs  go  up  if  we  would  come  to  Christ  and  to  the 
House  of  the  God  of  Jacob,  to  the  Church  which  is  '  the 
pillar  and  ground  of  truth.'  "-^ 

*'  By  the  Lord's  voice  is  the  Church  stablished  upon 
the  rock,  and  her  hath  the  King  brought  into  His  cham- 
ber, to  her  by  secret  condescension  hath  He  put  forth 
His  hand  through  the  lattices."'* 

Again  and  again,  as  in  the  passages  just  given,  does 
Jerome  celebrate  the  intimate  union  between  Christ  and 
His  Church.  For  since  the  Head  can  never  be  separated 
from  the  mystical  body,  so,  too,  love  of  Christ  is  ever 
associated  with  zeal  for  His  Church  ;  and  this  love  of 
Christ  must  ever  be  the  chiefest  and  most  agreeable  result 
of  a  knowledge  of  Holy  Scripture.     So  convinced  indeed 

^  Sulpicius  Sever  us,  T)ial.  i.  9. 

*  In  Agg.  ii.  I.  ^  In  Mich,  iv,  i. 

*  Proi.  in  Comment,  in  Matt. 


54  *S'^-   'Jerome  and  Holy  Scripture 

was  Jerome  that  familiarity  with  the  Bible  was  the  royal 
road  to  the  knowledge  and  love  of  Christ  that  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  say  :  "  Ignorance  of  the  Bible  means  ignorance 
of  Christ."^  And  '*what  other  life  can  there  be  without 
knowledge  of  the  Bible  wherein  Christ,  the  life  of  them 
that  believe,  is  set  before  us?"^  Every  single  page  of 
either  Testament  seems  to  centre  round  Christ ;  hence 
Jerome,  commenting  on  the  words  of  the  Apocalypse 
about  the  river  and  the  Tree  of  Life,  says : 

*'  One  stream  flows  out  from  the  throne  of  God,  and 
that  is  the  Grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  that  grace  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  that  is  in  the  stream 
of  the  Scriptures.  Yet  has  that  stream  twin  banks,  the 
Old  Testament  and  the  New,  and  the  Tree  planted  on 
either  side  is  Christ."^ 

Small  wonder,  then,  if  in  his  devout  meditations  he 
applied  everything  he  read  in  the  Bible  to  Christ: 

"  When  I  read  the  Gospel  and  find  there  testimonies  from 
the  Law  and  from  the  Prophets,  I  see  only  Christ  ;  I  so 
see  Moses  and  the  Prophets  that  I  understand  them  of 
Christ.  Then  when  I  come  to  the  splendour  of  Christ 
Himself,  and  when  I  gaze  at  that  glorious  sunlight,  I 
care  not  to  look  at  the  lamplight.  For  what  light  can  a 
lamp  give  when  lit  in  the  daytime  ?  If  the  sun  shines 
out  the  lamplight  does  not  shew.  So,  too,  when  Christ  is 
present  the  Law  and  the  Prophets  do  not  shew.  Not 
that  I  would  detract  from  the  Law  and  the  Prophets  ; 
rather  do  I  praise  them  in  that  they  shew  forth  Christ. 
But  I  so  read  the  Law  and  the  Prophets  as  not  to  abide  in 
them  but  from  them  to  pass  to  Christ."^ 

1  Prol.  in  Comment,  in  Isa.;  cf.  Tract,  de  Ps.  Ixxvii. 

2  Ep.  XXX.  7.  ^   Tract,  de  Ps.  i. 
*    Tract,  in  Mar  cum  ix.  1-7. 


T^he  Encyclical  Letter  55 

Hence  was  Jerome  wondrously  uplifted  to  love  for  and 
knowledge  of  Christ  through  his  study  of  the  Bible  in 
which  he  discovered  the  precious  pearl  of  the  Gospel: 
"There  is  one  most  priceless  pearl:  the  knowledge  of  the 
Saviour,  the  mystery  of  His  Passion,  the  secret  of  His 
Resurrection."^  Burning  as  he  did  with  the  love  of  Christ, 
we  cannot  marvel  that,  poor  and  lowly  with  Christ,  with 
soul  freed  from  earthly  cares,  he  sought  Christ  alone,  by 
His  spirit  was  he  led,  with  Him  he  lived  in  closest 
intimacy,  by  imitating  Him  he  would  bear  about  the 
image  of  His  sufferings  in  himself.  For  him  nought 
more  glorious  than  to  suffer  with  and  for  Christ.  Hence 
it  was  that  when  on  Damasus'  death  he  left  Rome 
wounded  and  weary  from  evil  men's  assaults,  he  wrote 
just  before  he  embarked : 

"Though  some  fancy  me  a  scoundrel  and  guilty  of 
every  crime — and,  indeed,  this  is  a  small  matter  when  I 
think  of  my  sins — yet  you  do  well  when  from  your  soul 
you  reckon  evil  men  good.  Thank  God  I  am  deemed 
worthy  to  be  hated  by  the  world.  .  .  .  What  real 
sorrows  have  I  to  bear — I  who  fight  for  the  Cross  ? 
Men  heap  false  accusations  on  me  ;  yet  I  know  that 
through  ill  report  and  good  report  we  win  to  the  king- 
dom of  heaven."^ 

In  like  fashion  does  he  exhort  the  maiden  Eustochium 
to  courageous  and  lifelong  toil  for  Christ's  sake : 

"To  become  what  the  Martyrs,  the  Apostles,  what 
even  Christ  Himself  was  means  immense  labour — but 
what  a  reward  !  .  .  .  What  I  have  been  saying  to  you 
will  sound  hard  to  one  who  does  not  love  Christ.     But 

1   In  Matt.  xiii.  45.  2   £p   ^ly.  i. 


56  St.   yerome  and  Holy  Scripture 

those  who  consider  worldly  pomp  a  mere  ofFscouring  and 
all  under  the  sun  mere  nothingness  if  only  they  may  win 
Christ,  those  who  are  dead  with  Christ,  have  risen  with 
Him  and  have  crucified  the  flesh  with  its  vices  and  con- 
cupiscences— they  will  echo  the  words  :  *  Who  shall 
separate  us  from  the  charity  of  Christ  ?'  "^ 

Immense,  then,  was  the  profit  Jerome  derived  from 
reading  Scripture  ;  hence  came  those  interior  illumina- 
tions whereby  he  was  ever  more  and  more  drawn  to 
knowledge  and  love  of  Christ ;  hence,  too,  that  love  of 
prayer  of  which  he  has  written  so  well  ;  hence  his  won- 
derful familiarity  with  Christ,  Whose  sweetness  drew  him 
so  that  he  ran  unfalteringly  along  the  arduous  way  of  the 
Cross  to  the  palm  of  victory.  Hence,  too,  his  ardent  love 
for  the  Holy  Eucharist :  "  Who  is  wealthier  than  he  who 
carries  the  Lord's  Body  in  his  wicker  basket,  the  Lord's 
Blood  in  his  crystal  vessel  ?"^  Hence,  too,  his  love  for 
Christ's  Mother,  whose  perpetual  virginity  he  had  so 
keenly  defended,  whose  title  as  God's  Mother  and  as  the 
greatest  example  of  all  the  virtues  he  constantly  set  before 
Christ's  spouses  for  their  imitation.^  No  one,  then,  can 
wonder  that  Jerome  should  have  been  so  powerfully 
drawn  to  those  spots  in  Palestine  which  had  been  conse- 
crated by  the  presence  of  our  Redeemer  and  His  Mother. 
It  is  easy  to  recognise  the  hand  of  Jerome  in  the  words 
written  from  Bethlehem  to  Marcella  by  his  disciples, 
Paula  and  Eustochium  : 

"  What  words  can  serve  to  describe  to  you  the  Saviour's 
cave  ?  As  for  the  manger  in  which  He  lay — well,  our 
silence  does  it  more   honour   than    any    poor  words    of 

^  Ep.  xxii.  38.  ^  Ep.  cxxv.  20.  ^  Ep.  xxii.  38. 


'The  Encyclical  Letter  57 

ours.  .  .  .  Will  the  day  ever  dawn  when  we  can  enter 
His  cave  to  weep  at  His  tomb  with  the  sister  (of  Lazarus) 
and  mourn  with  His  Mother  ;  when  we  can  kiss  the 
wood  of  His  Cross  and,  with  the  ascending  Lord  on 
Olivet,  be  uplifted  in  mind  and  spirit?"^ 

Filled  with  memories  such  as  these,  Jerome  could, 
while  far  away  from  Rome  and  leading  a  life  hard  for  the 
body  but  inexpressibly  sweet  to  the  soul,  cry  out  : 
"  Would  that  Rome  had  what  tiny  Bethlehem  possesses  !"* 

But  we  rejoice — and  Rome  with  us — that  the  Saint's 
desire  has  been  fulfilled,  though  far  otherwise  than  he 
hoped  for.  For  whereas  David's  royal  city  once  gloried 
in  the  possession  of  the  relics  of  "  the  Greatest  Doctor  " 
reposing  in  the  cave  where  he  dwelt  so  long,  Rome  now 
possesses  them,  for  they  lie  in  St.  Mary  Major's  beside 
the  Lord's  Crib,  His  voice  is  now  still,  though  at  one 
time  the  whole  Catholic  world  listened  to  it  when  it 
echoed  from  the  desert  ;  yet  Jerome  still  speaks  in  his 
writings,  which  "shine  like  lamps  throughout  the  world. "^ 
Jerome  still  calls  to  us.  His  voice  rings  out,  telling  us 
of  the  super-excellence  of  Holy  Scripture,  of  its  integral 
character  and  historical  trustworthiness,  telling  us,  too,  ot 
the  pleasant  fruits  resulting  from  reading  and  meditating 
upon  it.  His  voice  summons  all  the  Church's  children 
to  return  to  a  truly  Christian  standard  of  life,  to  shake 
themselves  free  from  a  pagan  type  of  morality  which 
seems  to  have  sprung  to  life  again  in  these  days.  His 
voice  calls  upon  us,  and  especially  on  Italian  piety  and 
zeal,  to  restore  to  the  See  of  Peter  divinely  established 

^  Ep.  xlvi.  II.  ^   Ep.  liv.  13. 

^  Cassian,  T)e  Incarnativne  vii.  26. 


58  St.  yerome  and  Holy  Scripture 

here  that  honour  and  liberty  which  its  Apostolic  dignity 
and  duty  demand.  The  voice  of  Jerome  summons  those 
Christian  nations  which  have  unhappily  fallen  away  from 
Mother  Church  to  turn  once  more  to  her  in  whom  lies  all 
hope  of  eternal  salvation.  Would,  too,  that  the  Eastern 
Churches,  so  long  in  opposition  to  the  See  of  Peter, 
would  listen  to  Jerome's  voice.  When  he  lived  in  the 
East  and  sat  at  the  feet  of  Gregory  and  Didymus,  he  said 
only  what  the  Christians  of  the  East  thought  in  his  time 
when  he  declared  that  "  If  anyone  is  outside  the  Ark  of 
Noe  he  will  perish  in  the  overwhelming  flood." ^  To-day 
this  flood  seems  on  the  verge  of  sweeping  away  all  human 
institutions — unless  God  steps  in  to  prevent  it.  And 
surely  this  calamity  must  come  if  men  persist  in  sweeping 
on  one  side  God  the  Creator  and  Conserver  of  all  things ! 
Surely  whatever  cuts  itself  off^  from  Christ  must  perish  ! 
Yet  He  Who  at  His  disciples'  prayer  calmed  the  raging 
sea  can  restore  peace  to  the  tottering  fabric  of  society. 
May  Jerome,  who  so  loved  God's  Church  and  so  strenu- 
ously defended  it  against  its  enemies,  win  for  us  the 
removal  of  every  element  of  discord,  in  accordance  with 
Christ's  prayer,  so  that  there  may  be  "  one  fold  and  one 
shepherd." 

^  Ep.  XV.  2. 


T^he  Encyclical  Letter  59 


Epilogue 

DELAY  not,  Venerable  Brethren,  to  impart  to  your 
people  and  clergy  what  on  the  fifteenth  centenary 
of  the  death  of  "  the  Greatest  Doctor  "  we  have 
here  set  before  you.  Urge  upon  all  not  merely  to 
embrace  under  Jerome's  guidance  Catholic  doctrine 
touching  the  inspiration  of  Scripture,  but  to  hold  fast  to 
the  principles  laid  down  in  the  Encyclical,  "  Providentissi- 
mus  Deus,"  and  in  this  present  Encyclical.  Our  one  desire 
for  all  the  Church's  children  is  that,  being  saturated  with  the 
Bible,  they  may  arrive  at  the  all-surpassing  knowledge  of 
Jesus  Christ.  In  testimony  of  which  desire  and  of  our 
fatherly  feeling  for  you  we  impart  to  you  and  all  your 
flocks  the  Apostolic  blessing. 

Given  at  St.  Peter's,  Rome,  September   15,  1920,  the 
seventh  year  of  our  Pontificate. 

BENEDICTUS  PP.  XV. 


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^^    Stockion,  Coiif. 


